


Everything's Alright

by MissMin



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Abuse, Angst, Domestic Violence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, KageHina - Freeform, M/M, Pain, Protectiveness, trigger warning, tw, tw-abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-04
Updated: 2016-11-16
Packaged: 2018-07-20 00:13:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 27,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7383211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissMin/pseuds/MissMin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hinata was broken.<br/>Kageyama was worried.<br/>Everything was not alright,<br/>but it would be</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter one

**Author's Note:**

> TW: abuse

Hinata had been missing school a lot lately. It was getting to the point where he was hardly practicing anymore, always giving some excuse about how he was feeling "sick" or "tired".

On top of that, the boy wasn't acting like himself anymore. He wasn't trying to pick fights with Kageyama. He wasn't joking around with Noya or teasing Tsukishima. He wasn't even smiling anymore, and this had been happening for weeks now.

Kageyama was angry at him at first, wanting to know why the boy was slacking off so much. Hinata usually wouldn't miss a practice for anything.

It wasn't until Hinata hadn't shown up for five days in a row that Kageyama's anger turned into worry. What if Shouyou was sick? Like sick sick? Kageyama tried to shake away the thought as he walked to school. This would be the sixth day in a row without Hinata if he didn't show up. Kageyama turned the corner towards the gym.

Hinata was sitting on the curb in front of the gym doors, staring at the ground and wringing his hands. Kageyama found himself suddenly running towards the boy as soon as he saw the familiar orange mop of hair.

"Where have you been?" He asked, breathless from running in the cold. "Everyone was worried."

Hinata looked up at his teammate, his expression blank. "I was just sick. I'm okay," he said quietly, returning his gaze to the ground.

Kageyama frowned, moving to sit beside Hinata on the curb. He could see dark circles under the boy's eyes, which were usually filled with so much light but now were dull and lifeless.

"Hinata," Tobio said quietly, watching the smaller boy carefully. "I know something's up. You've been acting weird for weeks."

Hinata bit his lip, clenching his fists. "I said I'm fine," he whispered, avoiding eye contact.

"I know you're not." Kageyama grabbed Hinata's shoulder, trying to turn the boy to look at his face.

Hinata winced and let out a small yelp of pain, quickly trying to move away from Kagyema. "Stop it!" He whimpered.

Kageyama frowned. He didn't even grab Hinata very hard. He slowly moved his hand away and instead moved it down to Hinata's wrist, reaching to grab the end of his sleeve.

"Don't," Shouyou trembled, looking at Tobio desperately but not doing anything to push him away. Kageyama ignored the smaller boy's wishes and began rolling up his sleeve. He instantly let go when he saw the bruises littering Hinata's skin.

"Hinata," he breathed out quietly. "What happened?" He searched Hinata's face for an answer. "Who did this to you?" Kageyama's voice rose, wanting to know who the hell could possibly want to hurt someone like Hinata. "Who?" He asked again.

Hinata began crying, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Please, Kageyama. Please don't tell anyone."

"Are there more?" Kageyama asked, his eyes scanning Shouyou's face and neck. "More bruises?"

Hinata nodded slowly, before a loud sob escaped his lips. He slowly lifted his trembling hands to pull the hem of his shirt up only an inch or two, exposing more marks along his stomach.

Kageyama suddenly reached forward, grabbing Hinata's hand and lacing it with his own. "Who did this to you?"

Hinata shook his head, tears falling from his eyes. "I can't tell you. I can't!"

Kageyama frowned. "Yes you can." He squeezed the boy's hand tightly. "Why the hell didn't you tell anyone?"

"Don't be angry," Hinata whimpered, squeezing his eyes shut. He flinched away, as if he was expecting Kageyama to hit him.

Kageyama felt his chest tighten. He suddenly felt sick. He hated seeing Hinata like this. This was all wrong. Whoever did this to him was going to get it.

"I'm not angry at you," he said. He reached out and wiped tears away from Hinata's cheek with his free hand.

Hinata opened his eyes, which were wet with tears. Kageyama turned his body towards the boy and pulled at Hinata's hand, trying to bring him closer. "Come here," he mumbled. Hinata didn't hesitate to let himself fall against Kageyama's chest.

Kageyama held him close, running one hand through Hinata's hair and leaving the other pressed to his back. Hinata sobbed into the other's shirt, clutching onto him. He shuffled closer to sit in Kageyama's lap. "I just want it to stop," he whimpered.

Kageyama pressed his face into Hinata's hair. "It's going to be okay," he whispered into the tangle of orange. "I promise."

"No it's not. He's not gonna stop," Hinata sobbed. "Kageyama. Please make him stop." Hinata sounded so desperate and so full of pain and Kageyama just held him tighter.

"Who is he?" Kageyama asked, trying to sound calm. "I can only make him stop if I know who he is."

"I cant tell you. He'll kill me," Hinata whimpered.

"I won't let him. Tell me, Shouyou."

Hint trembed in Kageyama's arms. "He, he-" Hinata choked on his words.

"It's okay."

"My dad," Hinata sobbed. "It's my Dad."

Kageyama stayed quiet, anger burning inside him. "You're okay," he said after a moment, trying to reassure Hinata that he would be alright. He didn't understand how Hinata's own father do this to him. Kageyama had to keep Hinata away from that man. A sudden feeling of protectiveness fell over him.

"I won't ever let that bastard touch you again. Not ever," he whispered, pulling Hinata as close as possible. "I promise."

Hinata's small body racked with sobs. Kageyama didn't know what to do in situations like this, and he'd always found it hard to help someone who was this upset. Nonetheless, he just held him, comforting the boy as well as he good.

"Kageyama? Hinata?"

Both of their heads shot up and they were met with Suga's face. Suga frowned at the sight before him. "What happened? Are you okay?"

Hinata quickly turned away, burying his face back in Kageyama's chest as the taller boy frowned at Suga, who seemed to understand that something had happened.

Suga crouched down beside the pair and rested a hand on Hinata's shoulder. "I don't know what happened but everything's going to be okay. You two should go home." He stood up to go into the gym and Kageyama nodded, silently thanking his upperclassman. 

"He's right. You shouldn't be here right now," Kageyama told the boy in his lap.

Hinata's eyes grew wide with fear. "No. I can't go home!" He gripped Kageyama's shirt tighter. "Please don't make me go back there."

"Come to my house. You can stay with me," Kageyama told him. "You have to."

Hinata sniffled, looking up at his friend. "Are you sure?" he asked quietly.

Kageyama ran a hand up and down Hinata's back. "Obviously. I'm not letting you go home."

Kageyama stood up, pulling Hinata up with him. He laced their fingers together, and they walked hand in hand to Tobio's house.

When they arrived, Kageyama opened the door, leading Hinata inside. "Do you want anything to eat? Or drink? Whatever you need I can get it for you," He said when they were inside.

Hinata shook his head. "I'm fine," he said quietly, staring at the floor.

Kageyama frowned. "Hey," he rested his hands on the shorter boy's shoulders. "You're going to be okay now. I'll make sure of it."

Hinata's eyes brimmed with new tears. "Why do you even care?"

"Because you're my friend dumbass, of course I care."

Hinata smiled weakly. "Thank you." He let out a yawn and rubbed at his eyes. "Do you think it would be okay if I took a nap?" He asked timidly. "I'm so tired."

Kageyama nodded quickly. Of course Hinata must have been exhausted. He couldn't imagine being able to fall asleep with the constant threat of being beaten in your own home. "Of course. Here, come on." He grabbed Hinata's hand and led him to his bedroom. "You can sleep in here for as long as you need. Do you want to borrow some sweatpants?"

Hinata nodded and Kageyama rummaged through his drawers until he found some that looked small enough. He left so the boy could change.

He returned a few minutes later to find Hinata curled up in his bed, already half asleep.

Tobio walked up to the side of the bed and stared at the boy for a moment. He looked peaceful, but so fragile. Like he could break at any second.

Suddenly a hand was pulling him into the bed by his arm. "Stay," Hinata mumbled.

Kageyama didn't argue. He just climbed in beside the boy. Hinata rolled over and wrapped himself around Kageyama, their limbs tangling together.

"What if he finds me?" Hinata's quiet voice asked.

"Don't think about that now. Just get some rest. He can't get you while you're here." Kageyama rubbed circle across the smaller boy's back.

Hinata didn't argue, pressing his face into Kageyama's neck.

When Kageyama was sure the smaller boy was asleep he pressed a kiss to the top of his head. "Everything's alright."

Kageyama woke up a few hours later. It was still light outside and Hinata was still wrapped in his arms, sleeping soundly.

He knew that there was a lot to do. He needed to report what was happening to Hinata. The boy was broken, both physically and mentally, and the thought of anyone ever hurting him again made Kageyama's blood boil. He knew he had to take action. He wanted to see Hinata smile again.

But for now he just wanted to be with him. He wanted to comfort him. He knew he would be able put the boy back together one piece at a time, and for now all he could do was try to do just that. 

"Can I tell you something Shouyou?"

Hinata didn't answer, and Kageyama knew he was still asleep. He decided to tell him anyway. 

"I love you."

And despite the situation, in that moment everything was alright.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Chapter two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So guess what? Because of high request I am continuing this story! Here's the second chapter, I really hope you enjoy!

Hinata had fallen asleep again. It was about midday at this time and the two boys were wrapped around each other in Kageyama’s bed. Hinata snored softly against his friend’s chest, looking peaceful for the first time in weeks. Kageyama, however, was wide awake, worried terribly for the smaller boy. He wondered when the last time Hinata actually got a full night of sleep was.

Kageyama was only fifteen. He didn’t know what to do in a situation like this. He was scared for Hinata. He looked down at the boy and felt his chest tighten. Hinata was so small, so innocent, and so pure. Something like this was not supposed to happen to him. He’d done nothing wrong. He didn’t deserve any of this. Hinata deserved happiness and love and friendship and volleyball, not to be hurt by someone who was supposed to love him.

How long had this been going on, Kageyama wondered. Hinata had started acting strange only a few weeks ago, but could this have been happening for longer than that? Kageyama felt sick again and held Hinata a tiny bit tighter, suddenly regretting every mean thing he’d ever done or said to Hinata.

He knew that he and Hinata hadn’t started off on the best of terms. They teased each other constantly, always yelling and fighting and playfully hitting the other but Kageyama had never meant any real harm. He knew that at the end of every day they were friends. Why else would they spend time outside of practice together or eat lunch together or even talk to each other? Though he’d never admitted it before, Kageyama had actually grown incredibly fond of the smaller boy. He’d finally found someone that could hit his tosses, that shared his passion for volleyball, and that actually wanted to spend time with him. Every ‘dumbass, Hinata!’ had been laced with a fondness that Kageyama had only for the tiny spiker. He finally had a friend, a best friend even. He wasn’t going to let anyone hurt his best friend ever again.

Kageyama’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a small whimper. He looked down and saw that Hinata’s face was contorted into a look of pain and distress, and he was clutching Kageyama’s shirt tightly. Another sound escaped the boy’s mouth, this one sounding more like a cry for help. Before Kageyama knew what was happening, Hinata was thrashing around, crying out in his sleep, trying to escape his nightmare.

Kageyama quickly sat up, grabbing Hinata’s shoulders and gently shaking him, trying to wake him. “Hey,” he mumbled. “Hinata.” The boy kept crying and Kageyama shook him a bit harder, careful not to hurt him. “Wake up!”

Hinata’s eyes shot open and quickly darted around the room in a panic. “He’s coming, he’s gonna get me, he’s-“ Hinata panted, suddenly meeting Kageyama’s eyes.

“Nobody’s coming. Nobody is going to hurt you,” Kageyama told him flatly, still holding onto the boy’s shoulders. Hinata blinked a few times, suddenly remembering where he was.

“Bakayama?” he asked softly. More tears began spilling from his eyes. “I’m sorry,” he trembled. “Im sorry, I just, I thought I was back there and-“ Hinata didn’t finish his sentence, another sob escaping his mouth. Kageyama just held his arms open, which HInata instantly fell into, latching onto his friend. “I’m so sorry,” Hinata whimpered.

“Stop saying that.” Kageyama ran his hand up and down Hinata’s back. “This is not your fault.”

“What am I going to do?” Hinata asked. He sounded so broken and Kageyama felt a pang in his chest because they boy sounded too fragile and too weak, and that was not the Hinata he was used to. He was used to the energetic, happy, strong willed boy who loved playing volleyball and being annoying.

“You’re not going to worry about that,” Kageyama answered, moving a hand up and running his fingers through Hinata’s hair. “I’m going to fix it. I swear.”

Hinata looked up at Kageyama. He must have been surprised at his friend’s words. Kageyama had never been this nice to him before. Obviously he always knew he and Kagyema were friends, but he never knew how much the taller boy actually cared until now. “Thank you,” he whispered into Kageyamas shirt.

Kageyama stayed silent, leaning down to press a soft kiss to the top of HInata’s hair. Kageyama didn’t know much about affection but that’s what someone did when they wanted to comfort someone, right?

“Im scared,” Hinata whispered quietly.

“I know,” Kageyama answered. “But soon you won’t have to be.”

“You didn’t let me finish.” Hinata moved to look at his friend. “Im scared but… but you make me feel better. You help.”

Kageyama leaned forward, kissing Hinata once again, this time on the forehead. “Everything’s going to be alright.” The sudden sound of keys jingling and clicking in a lock startled both boys. Kageyama knew it was his mother coming home form work. Hinata had a look of panic on his face and Kageyama squeezed his shoulders reassuringly. “Its okay. Just my mom.”

“What if she makes me leave?” Hinata was panicking again.

“She won’t. She will let you stay as long as you want to okay?” Kageyama smiled weakly, trying his best not to look creepy. “Just let me talk to her. I think I should tell her what happened. That way we can get you help.”

HInata’s eyes widened at the very thought of anyone else knowing what happened to him. “Bakeyama, no-“ he was trembling. “You can’t tell her.”

“If I don’t tell her we’re not gonna be able to get you away from your dad,” Kageyama explained. “If I do tell her though, she’ll let you stay with us for as long as you need to and she’ll know what to do to help you. You have to trust me.”

Hinata frowned. “Are you sure it’ll be okay? Promise?”

“I promise.”

“Okay,” Hinata whispered.

Kageyama gave him another kiss. Hinata seemed to like them, and Kageyama wanted him to feel better. “Okay then, I’m gonna go talk to her. Just stay here and try not to worry about anything. She’ll know what to do.”

HInata simply nodded and Kageyama left to talk to his mother. He didn’t really want to leave Hinata alone, but nonetheless he walked out of his bedroom and down the stairs to where his mom was sitting in the living room.

“Tobio! You’re home quite early today,” his mom greeted. “Was practice cancelled?”

Kageyama shifted uneasily, trying to decide what exactly to say. HIs mom furrowed his eyebrows, noticing how uneasy he looked.

“Is everything okay, dear?” she asked, suddenly looking concerned.

Kageyama frowned. “Um not really. Mom, I need to talk to you about something.”

Kageyama’s mom suddenly frowned, pulling Kageyama to sit beside her on their couch. “Tell me what’s wrong. Did something happen at school?”

Kageyama sat beside his mother and shook his head. “Not exactly. It’s not really about me. You know my friend from volleyball, Hinata?”

Kageyama’s mom nodded. “Of course. Did you two get in a fight or something?”

“No, its not that." He paused, nervous. "He’s been acting really weird for a while now and- today I found out that um,” Kageyama didn’t want to finish his sentence, but he knew he had to tell her or everything would get worse. “I found out that his dad has been hurting him.” He shifted a little in his seat. “I told him he could stay here. He can’t go back home and I thought maybe you would know what to do.”

Kageyama’s mother stayed silent for a moment, pursing her lips. Tobio realized that his mother was actually quite furious. “People are so disgusting,” she said. 

“Do you know what to do?” Kageyama asked. “ Im worried about him, mom.”

She nodded. “Its a good thing that you told me. I’ll find out what to do about this. He’ll stay with us in the meantime.”

Kageyama sighed, relieved that his mom would be able to help.

“You said that he’s here now?” his mom asked. Kageyama nodded. ‘’I want to talk to him. I want to let him know that he’s safe here.”

Kageyama nodded again. “He’s in my room.” He paused for a second. "He's kind of freaking out so please don't scare him."

“Of course I won't. I’m going to talk to him for a minute okay? Just stay here. Why don’t you order takeout?” his mom suggested before leaving the room. Kageyama simply nodded and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He had about a million texts and calls form the team but his just swiped them away for now, finding the takeout number.

Hinata was sitting on Kageyama’s bed, holding one of the setter’s pillows close to his chest. A soft knock on the door made his head shoot up. “Kageyama?” he asked quietly. “What did your mom say?”

When Kageyama’s mom walked into the room and HInata suddenly became very nervous, hoping that she wasn’t angry with him. “Oh, sorry, I thought you were-“

“Its okay sweetie,” Kagyema’s mother said, sitting beside Hinata on the bed. “I know you’re probably very scared but I want you to know that I’m going to get you help okay? You have a home here in the meantime.”

HInata felt tears swell in his eyes. “Th- thank you so much-“ he said gratefully, a sob escaping his mouth. He didn’t know what he did to deserve such kindness from this woman who didn’t even know him.

Kageyama’s mother smiled. “Don’t thank me, sweetie. You’re going to be okay.” She stood up. “Let’s go downstairs. Tobio is ordering takeout for all of us.”

Hinata smiled weakly, standing beside his friend’s mother, following her downstairs. He was okay now. Kageyama’s mother would know who to call or what to do. Maybe he would be alright after all.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment!


	3. Chapter three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all of your wonderful comments! I recently started college so I'm not sure if my updates will be as often as they are right now, but I promise not to abandon this!

Despite sleeping basically all day, after dinner Hinata announced that he was tired again. Kageyama wasn’t going to question it though. He knew that Hinata had been through a hell of a lot in the past few weeks and that the boy was just exhausted.

“Tobio, why don’t you set up the guest futon in your room?” His mother suggested and Kageyama nodded.

Hinata smiled and bowed to his friend’s mother. “Thank you so much for everything,” he said quickly. “I don’t know what I’d do without your help.”

Tobio’s mother smiled. “There’s no need to thank me sweetie. I’m just glad you’re safe. Now why don’t you two get ready for bed? It’s been a long day.”

The boys nodded and Hinata thanked her once more before they headed upstairs to Kageyama’s room, stopping by the hall closet to get the guest futon first. Before setting it up however, Kageyama set it down and rummaged through his drawers to find Hinata some pajamas. Hinata just watched him silently, still standing in the doorway of the small bedroom.

“Do you want to take a shower before bed?” Kageyama asked and Hinata quickly nodded.

“Thank you,” he mumbled as Kageyama handed him a pile of clothes and a towel to use.

“Stop thanking me,” Kageyama said, turning his attention to the futon.

Hinata just nodded and quickly left to take a shower, leaving Kageyama alone in his bedroom. Kageyama began unfolding the guest futon and tried to remember the last time he’d had someone spend the night at his house. He thought for a moment before suddenly realizing that he never had. It’s not like he’d ever had friends before, at least not ones that he would ever consider bringing to his house. Not until he met Hinata that is. Kageyama suddenly found himself wishing that he was setting this bed up for a different reason. He wished that Hinata was here to spend the night and play video games and talk about volleyball and hang out. The real reason he was here made Kageyama’s chest hurt.

Hinata walked into the room a minute later to find Kageyama sitting on the futon staring blankly at the wall. “Kageyama?” He asked timidly.

The setter’s head shot up to meet Hinata’s eyes. The boy’s wet hair was clinging to his forehead and neck, and some water was still dripping down, dampening his shirt, which was so big that is hung loosely over one of his shoulders and was long enough to be a dress on him. The shirt was short sleeved, revealing the bruises up and down his arms, and Kageyama frowned at the sight.

“Oi, why are you making that scary face?” Hinata asked quietly, still holding his towel.

Kageyama stood up and walked over to Hinata, taking the towel from him. “You’re going to catch a cold if you don’t dry your hair,” he mumbled, setting the towel on top of the boy’s head and drying it for him. Hinata just watched as Kageyama dried. When he was done he threw the towel into his hamper.

“Thanks,” Hinata said.

“I said to stop thanking me,” Kageyama told him. “You don’t have to do that. I’m just-“ he almost didn’t finish his sentence, but his eyes suddenly found their way to Hinata’s battered arms and he suddenly remembered that Hinata could be at home right now. He could be with his father, and Kageyama was so grateful that he was not. He was glad that Hinata was here with him, safe, protected, and loved. He finished his sentence. “I’m just really glad that you’re okay, Shouyou.”

Hinata smiled weakly at his friend. “I bet you’re glad that you’ll have someone to hit your tosses again, huh? Sorry I’ve been ditching out on practice so much.”

Kageyama frowned. Hinata didn’t get it did he? “That’s not why I’m glad, dumbass. Volleyball isn’t the only thing I care about you know.” Hinata raised an eyebrow in disbelief but didn’t say anything. “You’re my friend,” Kageyama continued. He was exceptionally awful at expressing feelings but Hinata deserved to know that someone cared, so Kageyama kept talking anyway. “I was really worried about you okay? And I still am. I just hate to see you so… hurt. I want you to be happy again because you’re my friend,” Kageyama admitted, sightly embarrassed by his own words. “You don’t deserve anything that happened to you.”

Hinata just stared at Tobio in awe. Never did he expect his scary, coldhearted, hateful friend to ever say anything remotely close to being this nice. “Thanks for not being scary,” Hinata whispered.

“Shut up, dumbass Hinata,” Kageyama mumbled half heartedly. Hinata just yawned, rubbing his eyes.

“Can we go to sleep now?” Hinata asked quietly. Kageyama nodded.

“I don’t know where you want to sleep. You can have my bed if you want. Its probably more comfortable than this,” Kageyama said motioning to the futon on the floor. He thought back to earlier when Hinata had told him that he helped him feel better and decided to continue speaking. “Or um, we can share if you want. Like earlier.”

Hinata nodded, not even hesitating before answering. “I want to share.”

Kageyama nodded and reached out for Hinata’s hand, pulling him into the small bed. The smaller boy curled against Tobio’s side. “What’s going to happen tomorrow?” Hinata asked quietly. Kageyama couldn’t help but be reminded of a child. The way Hinata sounded made him feel protective all over again and he reached for Hinata’s hand.

“I don’t know, but don’t worry. My mom knows what to do.” He gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

Hinata nodded. “I know you told me to stop saying this, but thank you Tobio.” He paused for a moment. “I’m glad that you’re my best friend.” Kageyama turned his head down to face the mop of orange hair tucked into his chest. “My life kind of sucks right now,” Hinata continued quietly. “So thank you for being here for me. You make me feel like somehow everything will end up okay.”

“It will,” Kageyama said quietly. “I promise.”

Hinata nuzzled against Tobio’s neck. The setter leaned down to press kisses to the top of Hinata’s head. The two were asleep in minutes.

Early the next morning sunlight crept through the cracks in the blinds, spilling onto Kageyama’s face to wake him. He froze when he felt something warm pressed to his side but quickly remembered what had happened yesterday. His eyes trailed down to Hinata, who was clinging to him as if his life depended on it; not that Kageyama minded. He took in Hinata’s calm features as he slept. The way his mouth hung open slightly, how one of his shirt sleeves fell to reveal freckles along his shoulder, the way his orange hair stuck out in a million different directions. Hinata was perfect. He was beautiful, Kageyama realized.

Then his eyes found their way to the bruises that littered Hinata’s skin and Kageyama frowned because he was able to see more of them along his chest where the boy’s shirt was too big and he felt sick. Hinata’s father was disgusting and Kageyama wanted to kill him for this. He wanted to make him feel the pain that he’d caused Shouyou. He wanted that bastard to be locked up for the rest of his damn life because Hinata was the most incredible person in the entire fucking world and Kageyama couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that anyone would ever want to hurt him.

A sob escaped Kageyama’s mouth without warning. He suddenly felt so desperate to help his friend. He’d never felt like this in his entire life; so utterly useless and incredibly guilty. Guilty because he hadn’t known about this sooner. He was supposed to be Hinata’s best friend, so how hadn’t he noticed sooner? “I’m so sorry,” he cried dropping the boy’s arm and scooping him into his own. “I’m sorry that this happened.” Kageyama was a mess, holding onto Hinata tightly. “You didn’t deserve-“ He hiccuped, choking on his words. “-any of it.” And he held him even closer because Hinata Shouyou was the sun and the sun was burning out and Kageyama was determined to make it shine again.

“Kageyama?” A quiet voice asked from his arms. There was a long pause where Kageyama quickly tried to stop crying. “Are you crying?”

Kageyama froze, cursing himself for being so emotional and waking Hinata up. “No, dumbass,” he managed to choke out. Kageyama took a couple of deep breaths and steadied his breathing. The two laid in silence for a few minutes, Kageyama calming himself down and Hinata breathing against his friend's chest. 

Hinata held onto him tighter. “Can I tell you something?” He asked quietly.

“Yeah.”

“Im scared,” Hinata’s voice came out shaky and Kageyama suddenly felt like crying again but he wouldn’t let himself. He needed to be strong.

“What are you scared of?” Kageyama responded, running his hand up and down Shouyou’s back.

“I’m scared that I’m going to have to see him again.” Of course, Hinata meant his father. Obviously height have to, but Kageyama didn’t want to scare him anymore.

“You might have to, but don’t worry. I’ll be there and my mom will be there and nobody is going to let him touch you ever again. I promise.” Kageyama pressed a kiss to the boy’s head. It was becoming a habit. “I won’t let him hurt you.”

Hinata held on to Kageyama tighter and for a few minutes they laid there in silence.

“Kageyama, I heard what you said yesterday.”

Kageyama frowned, unsure about what Hinata was talking about.

“That you love me.”

Kageyama suddenly remembered exactly when he’d said that yesterday. They were in this same spot, but Kageyama had thought Hinata was asleep. “Oh,” he said quietly.

“I love you too,” Hinata said quietly. “I thought you should know.”

Kageyama leaned down to press a kiss to Hinata’s temple. He wasn’t sure exactly what the boundaries were between them at this point, but he honestly didn’t care too much. He just wanted Hinata to be happy and that’s all that was important. He knew that best friends usually didn’t share a bed or kiss each other but this was different somehow. This was okay.

A knock on the bedroom door startled both boys, and they both quickly sat up. “Boys? You should probably get up. There’s a lot to do today.”

“Okay mom,” Kageyama called back towards the door. He turned back to Hinata. “C’mon.”

Hinata just stared back with wide eyes. “I’m still scared,” he said, trembling like he was yesterday at school.

“It’s okay,” Kageyama whispered, squeezing the smaller boy’s shoulders. “Remember how I said I was gonna be there? I’m always gonna be there.” He stared at Hinata, wishing he knew exactly what to do to help. “You’re not alone.”

Hinata shook his head. “I’m going to have to tell more people about it. I don’t think I can do that.”

“Yes you can,” Kageyama told him flatly.

Hinata shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

“Hey,” Kageyama frowned. “You told me, didn’t you? I’m the scariest person you could have told. Now it’s going to be a lot easier.”

Hinata smiled weakly. “And you’ll be there the whole time?”

“If that’s what you want. I won’t leave your side.”

Hinata took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay.” He stood up suddenly. “Your mom is probably waiting for us, huh?”

Kageyama just nodded. Hinata reached for his hand and he accepted it, holding it as they left the room and walked all the way downstairs. The smell of eggs and bacon filled the air and Kageyama knew that his mom was making them breakfast. She would never let a guest come over and make them eat cereal.

“You didn’t have to make breakfast,” Hinata said quietly as they entered the kitchen.

“Don’t be silly, sweetie. You boys sit down, I’m almost finished,” Kageyama’s mom told them as she got a few plates down from the cabinets.

Kageyama led Hinata to the kitchen table and they both sat down, waiting for food. Tobio’s mother came over a few seconds later with two plates of breakfast and set them down in front of the boys. “Eat up! I’m going to go make a few phone calls and then I’ll be back. Shouyou, I washed your clothes while you were sleeping so they should be on top of the washer.

Hinata nodded. “Thank you very much,” he said with a mouthful of food. “For everything.”

She just nodded and left the room. Hinata turned to Kageyama. “Do you think she’s calling people about my dad?” he asked quietly.

Kageyama knew that that was exactly what his mom was doing. “Probably. Don’t worry though.”

Hinata nodded, wringing his hands. Kageyama frowned and reached for one of Hinata’s hands. “Stop worrying.”

“I can’t help it. What if they don’t believe what happened and I have to go back there?”

“You won’t have to go back.”

“How do you know?” HInata was trembling again.

“Because I’m not going to let you go back there! I wont let anyone hurt you anymore okay?” Kageyama squeezed Hinata’s hand.

Hinata nodded slowly, taking deep breaths. They finished their breakfast in silence, still gripping each others hands. It was hard for Kageyama to eat with his left hand but he wasn’t about to let go.

After they finished, Kageyama put both plates in the sink and took Hinata to get his clothes. “You can change in the bathroom. I’ll be in my room when you’re finished okay?”

Hinata nodded and went to the bathroom to change. Kageyama went to his bedroom and changed quickly, throwing his pajamas into the corner. He looked at the unused futon on the floor and realized that Hinata was taking quite a while to change. He decided to give him a few more minutes and checked his phone. He had tons of missed calls and texts from the team, but he really didn’t want to deal with that right now. He was’t going to tell anyone what actually happened and didn’t feel much like lying so he just ignored them, clicking his phone off again.

Hinata was still in the bathroom and Kageyama realized he was taking far too long to change. He decided to go check on him, making his way down the hall to the bathroom. He knocked twice in the door before speaking. “Are you okay in there, dumbass?” he asked through the door. He didn’t get a reply right away, instead hearing what sounded like hiccups. “Hinata?” He asked again.

“I’m fine,” a trembling voice answered and Kageyama immediately knew that Hinata was not fine.

“Im coming in okay?”

Kageyama took the silence as an okay and opened the bathroom door, which wasn’t even locked. He stepped inside and quickly shut it behind him. He then turned to Hinata, who was shirtless and staring at himself in the mirror crying.

Kageyama finally realized how bad this actually was. Bruises were literally covering Hinata’s back and chest. There were even a few scars that had obviously been from hits that broke the skin. Hinata was a sobbing mess, his entire body trembling.

“Whats wrong with me?” Hinata asked, crying harder. “Look at me! I’m disgusting.” He hiccuped again. “I hate this. I hate it, I hate it, I hate everything!”

Kageyama rushed forward, gathering the boy into his arms. “There’s nothing wrong with you,” he whispered, trying to turn Hinata away from the mirror.

“Yes th- there is. Just look at me, Im disgusting. No wonder he did this to me.”

“Shut up.” Kageyama released Hinata enough to look him in the eyes. “I don’t want to hear you say that ever again.”

“Just look at me!” Hinata wailed, tears streaming down his face.

Kageyama pressed a kiss quickly to Hinata’s forehead. “I am looking at you. You’re not disgusting.” He stepped back a little, holding only Hinata’s hands now.

“Yes I am. I’m worthless. Im such a mess,” Hinata was tearing apart Kageyama’s heart with each word. “I’m sorry Kageyama. I’m sorry I’m such a mess.”

“Stop talking like that,” he said. If only Hinata could see what he saw. “You’re not worthless. You’re not a mess.” Kageyama moved to stand behind Hinata, facing both of them toward the mirror.

“What do you see?” he asked quietly, not even waiting for an answer. “Because I see my best friend, and he is perfect.”

“But I’m so ugly. Look at the bruises! Look what he did to me! Im disgusting!”

Kageyama shook his head. “I think you’re beautiful.” It was an odd thing to hear Kageyama say, as he was always so quick to insult. Hinata stared at him the mirror with wide, puffy eyes.

Tobio slowly leaned down to press a kiss to a bruise on Hinata’s left shoulder. “Beautiful,” he whispered. Another kiss on his arm. “Beautiful.” His chest, his back, his stomach. “Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.” Kissing away the pain was a thing, right? He just kept kissing the bruises over and over again, as if he had the power to magically make them better.

Hinata was so still, watching Kageyama carefully, occasionally hiccuping. “Kageyama,” he said quietly, in almost a whisper. “Why?”

Kageyama stood to meet Hinata’s eyes again. “Because,” he whispered, pulling Hinata into a hug. “You are everything.”

“No I’m no-“

“Yes you are.” Kageyama interrupted. “I know everything is hard right now. I can’t even imagine what you’re going through, but you aren’t alone. Hinata Shouyou is not worthless or ugly or disgusting. Don’t forget that.”

Hinata was still for a moment before leaning up and kissing Kageyama softly on the underside of his jaw, his eyes still puffy and red. “Thank you.”

The held each other for another minute or two in silence as Hinata steadied his breathing and calmed down. Kageyama let go of him. “Finish getting dressed and then we’ll figure out what we’re doing.” Hinata nodded, picking his shirt up from the counter and pulling it on over his head. He reached for Kageyama’s hand and they left the bathroom together.

A voice could be heard from down the hall and Kageyama knew his mom was still on the phone so he took Hinata back downstairs. “We can play video games for a while if you want,” he suggested, trying to get Hinata’s mind off of the current situation.

Hinata agreed, sitting beside Kageyama on the couch. They played for only a few minutes though before Kageyama’s mom came into the room.

“I hate to interrupt the fun,” she said, pulling their focus away from super smash bros and to her instead. It was easy to tell that she was trying to keep the mood light. “They need you to go make a statement for the police,” she told Hinata. “Don’t worry, your dad won’t be there and we’ll stay with you the entire time. But it has to be today.”

Kageyama turned to Hinata, making sure that he was okay. “Okay,” Hinata said quietly, looking at Kageyama. “It’s okay.”

Kageyama’s mother smiled. “Whenever you’re ready, we can all drive down there together.”

Hinata nodded. “Are you sure you’re okay?” Kageyama asked quietly.

“Yeah. I’m going to have to do this at some point anyway. Might as well be now.” Hinata was pale and looked terrified. Kageyama could tell how hard he was trying to keep it together.

He reached out and grabbed Hinata’s hand. “Just remember what I told you. I’ll be there the whole time.”

Hinata nodded, letting out a breath. “Let’s go.”                

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments are much appreciated


	4. Chapter four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little bit of background on what Happened to Hinata before Kageyama found out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW-this chapter contains depictions of child abuse.

Hinata Shouyou had a happy childhood. It was one full of laughs and love and _family_.

Hinata loved his family. His mother was always there for him, always helping him, always comforting him, and always supporting him. She was always smiling too, a kind woman to everyone she met. His little sister Natsu was his best friend growing up. He always had the best times with her when they would play games, run through the back yard, and even when she begged Shouyou to play dress up he would agree. He just adored her too much to say no.

Then there was his father. Hinata had never known him too well. At a very young age, too young for him to remember much, Shouyou’s father had left for reasons he never understood. It was right after his mother found out she was pregnant with Natsu, so Hinata had very little memory of the man. Whenever he would ask his mother about him she would tell him that it didn’t matter anymore and that he should focus on the present.

And that’s what he did. He didn’t need a father when he already had his mother and sister. They were all he needed, and his life was great. He spent his childhood making countless friends and having a wonderful time with the family he’d already grown to love.

And then one day his father came back. It wasn’t expected or planned or even wanted for that matter. One day his father was just at the door, unannounced and uninvited. This was when Shouyou was in his final year of middle school. He had just gotten home from school and he, Natsu and his mother were eating dinner when there were three loud knocks on the front door. His mom had gone to answer the door and suddenly Shouyou had a dad.

His mom had sat both he and Natsu down and explained to them that their dad was back and that they needed to make him feel welcome in the home. When Shouyou looked at his dad he tried to compare him to the figure from his memories of years and years ago but he just couldn’t tell that it was the same person.

It was weird having someone else in the house, and Hinata was unsure of how he felt about it at first. It was almost as if his father was intruding on what Hinata was used to. His definition of ‘home’ just didn’t include a father.

Hinata learned a lot about his new “father” within the first few months of having him around. The man and his mother had a complicated past that they both refused to talk about, and Hinata and Natsu weren’t allowed to ask about it. The man also insisted that both Shouyou and Natsu called him their dad, which felt strange since they had barely met the man. He always talked in an authoritative way, which seemed to scare Natsu at first, but Shouyou assured her that that was just how he was and that there was no reason to be scared.

As middle school ended for Shouyou he was becoming used to living with his father. He realized that the man was actually pretty normal and that he didn’t mind having him around. Sometimes he would even ask Shouyou about volleyball or school. High school started and everything seemed to be just as it should be. His dad took everyone out to dinner to celebrate when Shouyou made the volleyball team, he threw a small party for Natsu’s ninth birthday, he would even take them to the park and to the zoo and did all of the things that fathers were meant to do. Their mother seemed so happy that their father was back and Shouyou finally felt like he had a real father. Their little family had gained a member, but it completed them somehow and everything seemed perfect.

The first time Shouyou knew something was wrong was one day when he got home from volleyball practice. He was incredibly exhausted, thinking nothing of it as he threw his practice bag on the floor and kicking his shoes off as soon as he stepped into the house. He immediately went to his room and flopped down on his bed, trying to get some rest before dinner. Natsu and his mother happened to be at the store and his father was working on his computer in his room. After about ten minutes, without meaning to, Hinata fell asleep. He was suddenly woken a while later by a booming voice and a tall figure standing over him.

“Shouyou! I told you not to leave your stuff in the hallway!”

Shouyou blinked a few times, not sure exactly what was happening, still groggy from sleep.

“Are you listening to me? I told you to put it away several times and you didn’t! You also have a lot of chores that should have been done by now!”

Hinata suddenly realized what was happening and sat up. “Sorry,” he mumbled, not used to his father yelling at him. “I fell asleep and didn’t hear you. I’ll go do it.”

His dad rolled his eyes. “Its six o clock, you shouldn’t be sleeping, you should be working on homework and chores!”

Hinata froze, unsure about how to reply. He’d never seen his dad like this and it was honestly terrifying him. “I’m sorry. I’ll go do my chores and pick my stuff up. I was just tired,” he explained.

“If this kind of thing keeps happening I’m gonna pull you out of that Volleyball crap. It’s distracting you.”

“No, please don’t!” Hinata jumped out of his bed, running to pick up his bag from the hall. “It won’t happen again, I swear.”

“It better not!” And with that, Hinata’s father left the room, spending the rest of the night acting as if nothing had happened. Hinata assumed he must have just been having a bad day and shrugged it off. All parents lost their temper sometimes.

The first time Shouyou’s dad hit him was a few weeks later after a practice match against Nekoma. Hinata got home rather late from the match and knew that Natsu was probably sleeping. He tip toed carefully into his room, making sure to bring his practice bag in there with him. He quickly took a shower and changed into some pajamas, ready to sleep. When he returned to his room though, his father was standing in there as if he’d been waiting for Shouyou to arrive.

“Why are you home so late?” He asked, his voice scarily calm.

“I had a game. I told you this morning.”

“You didn’t tell me it would go this late.”

“I’m sorry, I thought you would know,” Shouyou explained. “Games usually go pretty late.”

“Maybe you should have told me that in the first place!” His father’s voice was getting louder and a bit scarier.

“I don’t see why it’s such a big deal,” Shouyou frowned. “You knew where I was.”

His dad frowned. “I did not know where the hell you were actually. I don’t understand how one game can take so long. I think you’re just using that as an excuse to go out and fuck that gay little volleyball boyfriend of yours that you’re always boasting about.”

“That’s not what happened!” Hinata protested. “We had a match today! You can ask my coach! And stop it! Kageyama is just my friend,” he added, feeling defensive.

“Oh that’s his name is it? I’m sick of hearing about that kid. I’m not going to have a fag living under my roof!”

“What are you talking about?” Shouyou asked. “He’s just my friend. You’re overreacting!”

“Don’t talk back to me! If you don’t stop this nonsense I’m taking you out of that ridiculous team so that you can play a real sport. I don’t need these teammates of yours influencing your behavior.”

“What does that even mean?” Shouyou argued, feeling incredibly confused but also slightly angry. “You can’t make me quit! You can’t tell me what to do!”

“I’m your father and I can tell you what the fuck to do if I want!”

“Mom wouldn’t treat me like this! She actually cares if I’m happy!”

With that last comment, his father looked more enraged than before. He suddenly sent a slap across Shouyou’s face in one quick motion, leaving a stinging sensation on his left cheek before leaving the room. “Don’t you dare fucking talk back to me like that again,” were his last menacing words before leaving the room. Shouyou cried himself to sleep after that.

After that night things only started getting worse. The outbursts from his father were becoming more and more frequent. It was hard for Hinata to understand. His dad had been so great up until now, and he was actually growing fond of him. Now everything just seemed to be falling apart. He hadn’t threatened to make Hinata quit the team again though, and the boy figured it was probably because his mom had somehow talked the man out of it. However, that didn’t mean that things were getting any better.

Shouyou’s father was hitting him a lot now, mostly sticking to places besides the face so that no one at school would become suspicious. It started with his fists, hitting his son for minor things like accidentally spilling some milk or breaking a glass in the kitchen. Every hit left a bruise and every hit left Shouyou crying, wondering why he deserved it. When he started crying, his dad would just hit him more, calling him names like “baby” or “faggot” with each blow. If Shouyou would be home late from a game, or if he forgot to do some of his chores, he knew that punishment was coming. His father would wait for him in his room with the belt and afterwords, and Hinata would hurt so much that he couldn’t go to school the next day.

His dad began enforcing rules on Hinata. He wasn’t allowed to hang out with people outside of school or on weekends. He wasn’t allowed to go to friend’s houses or have friends over. He wasn’t allowed to go anywhere without his dad knowing exactly where and when he’d be back. He wasn’t allowed to talk about volleyball or his “faggot” friends anymore. He wasn’t allowed to go to school if any of his bruises were visible, and he was most definitely not allowed to tell anyone what was happening to him or his father would kill him. The list of rules went on and on and the only reason he could even play volleyball anymore was because his mom had begged his father to let him stay in it. Even when Shouyou followed his father’s every rule, the man still found some reason to beat him almost daily.

Shouyou didn’t understand why his mother was letting any of his happen to him. Whenever he tried to go to her for help she would send him away with a sorry look in her eyes. He didn’t understand how his mother, who he knew loved him very much, would let this man come into their lives and hurt him. It wasn’t until one night when he heard his mother talking on the phone with someone that he finally understood. “We really need the money right now,” she had said. “I know he’s not the greatest and I know what he did in the past was bad but without him the kids wouldn’t have food.” Shouyou decided that he needed to suck it up and deal with it for a while. For his mom. At least the man wasn’t hurting her or Natsu, and maybe if HInata just let him take out his aggressions on him he would leave them alone.

He felt so alone in life that the only thing he seemed to be living for anymore was volleyball. He threw everything he had into the sport, it being his only escape from the crap he was dealing with at home. He grew closer to Kageyama, too, eating lunch with the boy and actually talking to him. Kageyama made him feel like he actually had someone to talk to again. Even though his friend was cold and unaffectionate, at least he didn’t seem to hate him. At least he listened. He never wanted to leave when he was with Kageyama or the rest of the team, knowing that leaving meant going home and going home meant beatings. When he was with his friends he felt safe, and it was hard for him to feel safe anymore.

But sometimes his dad would hit him too much and he couldn’t go to school. He found himself coming up with the lamest excuses not to go. He told the team that he was sick a lot, and knew that eventually they would start getting suspicious but he really had no other choice, There was no way in hell he was going to tell anyone what was happening to him. His dad would actually murder him probably, and he couldn’t risk that. He just kept up the facade that everything was fine and that he was happy in the hopes that eventually everything would just be okay again.

Shouyou felt like he was no longer living his life, but just going through the motions and scraping by day to day. He barely even felt anything but pain anymore and it was beginning to get harder and harder to find anything to be happy about. Even volleyball didn’t seem as appealing to him anymore. It was becoming hard to find the energy to play, and when he did play it just made everything hurt. Whenever he would walk to class beside Kageyama or sit beside him at lunch all he wanted to do was scream and plea for help, but he didn’t dare. He just hoped that someone would realize what was happening to him before he completely broke.

The first time Shouyou seriously considered telling someone what was happening to him was on a Tuesday night. Things were actually going quite well so far. It was already about eight and Hinata was starting to think that he just might get away tonight without a beating. It actually filled him with slight determination. Maybe he’d feel good enough to actually play well tomorrow during practice.

He kept himself busy in his room after dinner, making sure to stay out of his father’s way in case something were to happen to ruin his chances. It was almost time for him to go to sleep when he heard loud footsteps approaching his door. He froze, feeling his heart drop as his father swung the door open and bounded into the room. “What the hell is this?” His dad held out a piece of paper towards Hinata. It took the boy a second to register that it was his report card for the first half of the semester. He gulped.

“Your grades are unacceptable!” He stepped closer to his son angrily, shoving the paper in his face. Four Cs? And three Ds? What the hell kind of son am I raising? I knew this volleyball shit was distracting you! I want you off the team at once!”

Hinata shook his head quickly, tears already swelling in his eyes. “No! Dad please don’t make me quit! I’ll do better next time I promise. Please,” he was already sobbing, unable to control himself.

“Stop being a baby! Your grades are more important than fucking around with that stupid team,” his dad screamed. “You’re done Shouyou.”

“No!” Shouyou cried, actually feeling anger rise in his chest. “I’m not leaving the team!” The thought of never playing volleyball again made him want to die. Volleyball was all he had. His team were his closest friends. he couldn’t leave that all behind.

His dad lunged forward, grabbing his son’s wrists tightly. Shouyou cringed at the scent of alcohol on his breath. His dad hardly drank, and when he did, he never got drunk, but Shouyou could tell that his dad was tonight. His body reeked of alcohol and his grip was bit tighter than usual and he had a wild look in his eyes. “Stop,” the boy whimpered helplessly.

“You should have thought about this before you let your gradesget so bad,” the man grumbled. He threw Hinata harshly against a wall and took off his belt, folding it to hit the boy with. “You’re just a little baby,” he growled, sending the belt against Hinata’s ribcage. The boy cried out in pain but his dad kept going. “You’re a pathetic excuse for a son.” Another hit, this one to the stomach. The insults kept flying from his dads mouth, “Faggot. Useless. Disappointment.” Hinata endured hit after hit after hit until his father finally stopped. It seemed to have lasted forever and this had been the worst beating he’d ever had by far. He curled in on himself on his bedroom floor and sobbed loudly. He felt blood seeping through his shirt from where one of the hits had broken the skin across his stomach but just let it bleed, feeling too weak to do anything but lie there and cry.

Hinata had never hated anyone as much as he hated his father in that moment. He had never hated himself so much either. He shouldn’t have gotten such bad grades. Maybe this was his fault after all. Maybe his dad was right. He began sobbing more at that thought because he knew it wasn’t true, he new he didn’t actually deserve any of this, but couldn’t stop himself form thinking it.

As he laid there, all he wanted was for the pain to stop. He felt a terrible urge to call someone, anyone, to come save him. The first person who came to mind was Kageyama. He imagined his friend coming to the rescue and saving him from this pit of hell he was living in. He wanted to do it so badly. All he would have to do is call. He reached for his phone and opened it, searching for Kageyma’s contact but something stopped him. If he really was as useless as his father said he was, Kageyama wouldn’t even want to help him anyway, would he? Did Kageyama even like him? He’d probably just laugh and tell him to come to practice anyway.

He cried himself to sleep that night, never getting up from the floor. He wasn’t going to be able to go to school tomorrow anyway, so what was the point? What was the point of anything now that he couldn’t do volleyball?

He didn’t go to school for an entire week because of that beating. He could hardly even move for two days. His mother had been keeping Natsu away from him, and he didn’t blame her. He didn’t want his sister to be scared. He wanted to keep her sheltered from all of it. The first thing he did when he could move properly again was smash his phone to pieces. He was sick of it buzzing and buzzing, his teammates constantly asking where he was. He didn’t have the heart to answer any of their messages anyway. He decided that destroying it was the best option, that way he wouldn’t be tempted to call anyone for help and he wouldn’t have to deal with it anymore.

His dad didn’t hit him at all during that week, probably because he realized he’d gone too far this time and people would be suspicious of his son for missing so much school. He made Shouyou go back on a Thursday. He’d already missed five days of school, and he wouldn’t allow him to miss anymore.

“I have to go in a bit early to find out what I missed in all of my classes,” Shouyu lied. His father agreed to let him go in early, and the boy was grateful that he didn’t ask anymore questions. He didn’t intend on asking his teachers anything. He had to go to practice early to tell the team that he had to quit. He didn’t know what excuse he was going to use yet but he decided that he could just make one up on the spot.

He left the house and made his way to school, wishing it was a normal day and that he could race Kageyama to the gym and that he could hit one of Kageyama’s tosses one last time. he was earlier than he usually would be for practice so he sat on the curb and tried to think of an excuse to use that he had to quit the team. The very though of telling his team the news made him want to burst into tears. He found himself staring down at his hands, wringing them nervously. That’s when Kageyama came up to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and for leaving such wonderful comments!! Please leave a comment if you liked this chapter! I know its kind of different than the other ones but the next chapter will return to where I left off last time.


	5. Chapter five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this story everyone! I appreciate all of the wonderful comments!

Hinata was visibly trembling the entire way to the police station. Kageyama sat beside him in the back seat of his mother’s car, trying to think of a way to calm him down. Hinata had seemed to be doing fine before they left, but now he was a mess all over again. Kageyama obviously couldn’t blame the boy. He’d been through a lot. Kageyama didn’t know what would even help at this point. His mother had the radio playing, probably so Hinata wouldn’t go crazy sitting in silence, but it obviously wasn’t enough to distract him.

“Hey,” Kageyama whispered, hoping his mother wouldn’t hear him over the radio. He reached his hand out for Hinata to take, which the smaller boy did immediately. “Try not to panic,” he said. “If you feel like panicking just squeeze my hand like this,” Kageyama squeezed Hinata’s gently.

Hinata nodded stiffly. “Okay,” he squeaked out. Kageyama watched as Hinata turned his attention to the window, staring blankly out at their surroundings. He wondered what could be going through the boy’s head. He had no idea what exactly had happened to Hinata and he just wished that he knew exactly how to fix everything. He knew that eventually the scars and bruises would fade, and Hinata wouldn’t have to deal with his father anymore. The scars left in Hinata’s mind, however, were not going to be as easily fixed. Kageyama squeezed his hand again, not intending on letting go for quite a while.

When Kageyama’s mother parked at the police station, Hinata squeezed his friend’s hand, not wanting to go inside. “Im scared. I can’t do it,” Hinata whimpered, not moving from his spot in the car. “I can’t tell people. I already told you! That’s too many people. He’s gonna kill me. He-he told me not to tell. It was the most important rule,” Hinata was panicking, his breathing too fast and his bottom lip trembling.

Kageyama looked around. His mom had already gotten out of the car, and he mentally thanked her for not trying to rush Hinata. Instead she just stood outside the car, pretending to busy herself on her phone. He turned his attention to Hinata again. “It’s okay to be scared,” he assured him. “Everyone gets scared sometimes. You can do this. Just because you’re scared doesn’t mean you can’t be brave.” Kageyama gave his hand another squeeze. He can’t hurt you anymore.”

Hinata nodded, taking shaky breaths. He slowly reached to open the door, pushing it open and pausing. “Don’t let go,” the boy requested, squeezing his friend’s hand before climbing out of the car.

“I won’t.”

“Are you ready?” Ms. Kageyama asked Hinata softly. The boy nodded stiffly in response and she smiled, leading the way to the doors. “Don’t worry Shouyou, the officers are going to understand. They’re not scary,” she assured him. Hinata just squeezed Kageyama’s hand again.

When they stepped into the building it was fairly quiet inside. There was a man at the front talking to a woman and writing something down. Another man sat at the front desk, typing away on his computer. Distant voices could be heard talking, probably in other rooms of the building. Ms. Kageyama went to the front desk to talk to the man on his computer.

“Hello,” she greeted the man. He looked up form what he was doing. “I called here earlier about Hinata Shouyou.” Hinata cringed when she said his name, leaning closer to Kageyama. He wished he could just disappear and not worry about this.

The man nodded. “Of course.” He typed something in to the computer and a few papers came shooting out of the printer on his desk. “If you could fill these out,” he handed them to Tobio’s mother, who nodded. “And you are Mr. Hinata?” he asked the orange haired boy. Hinata nodded slowly. “Mind if I call you Shouyou?” Hinata shook his head. The man at the desk smiled warmly at him and stood up. “I am officer Yoko. There’s no need to be worried okay?”

Hinata nodded again, unsure of what to say. He wondered what Tobio’s mom was having to fill out, and he wondered how long he’d have to be here. Ms. Kageyama handed the papers back to officer Yoko, who took them and stapled them together. “I’ll be right back,” he said, turning to take the paperwork to someone in one of the offices behind him.

“Are you okay?” Kageyama asked. He’d been watching HInata closely ever since they got out of the car, and he’d noticed that Hinata had gone white as a sheet.

Hinata nodded, looking up at his friend. “What’s gonna happen now?” he asked.

“They’ll probably ask you some questions about your dad and what exactly has been happening with him. They need a statement form you in order to investigate anything,” Ms. Kageyama explained. Hinata nodded. That made sense.

The officer from before came out from the office behind the desk with some more paperwork and handed it to Ms. Kageyama. “We’ll need you to fill these out as well. There’s a small waiting area over there for you to do so if you’d like,” he said gesturing to some chairs and a small table in the corner of the room. Tobio’s mom nodded. Officer Yoko then turned to Hinata. “We just need to ask you some questions and get your statement on paper. Would you mind coming with me?”

Hinata gulped, taking a shaky breath. “Okay,” he said quietly. “Am I allowed to bring my friend?” He asked, looking down at he and Kageyama’s intertwined hands.

The officer pursed his lips and shook his head. “I’m afraid not. But don’t worry, you’ll be able to see him right after we’re done.”

Hinata squeezed Kageyama’s hand tightly and looked up at his friend, panic in his eyes.

“I’ll give you a minute. Just come into this office when you’re ready,” the officer said, turning to go back into the office behind the desk.

Kageyama turned to face Hinata completely and and held both of his hands. “Y-you said you would be with me the whole time,” Hinata said quietly. “Kageyama-“ he trembled. “You have to come with me, I can’t do it by myself. I can’t-“

“Stop freaking out,” Kageyama told him flatly. “I thought I would be able to stay with you but its okay. I’ll stand right outside the door the whole time. I promise I won’t leave.”

Hinata shook his head. “You don’t understand. I can’t.”

“Yes you can.” Kageyama paused, not sure how to convince Hinata to go inside. He stepped forward and kissed Hinata’s forehead softly. “You can do this.” Hinata took a deep breath and nodded his head stiffly. Kageyama led him by hand towards the door. “You’re okay,” Kageyama said quietly. Hinata nodded, reluctantly letting go of Kageyama’s hand and reaching for the door handle.

“Promise you won’t leave.”

“I promise.” Kageyama leaned against the wall beside the door. “I’ll be here.”

Hinata took a deep breath and pushed open the door, stepping inside. Inside the small office sat Officer Yoko and a woman.

“Take a seat,” the woman said, gesturing to the seat across from her and Yoko. Hinata obliged, sitting down in the small brown chair. “I am Officer Adachi,” the woman said. “It’s nice to meet you Shouyou.”

Hinata nodded, feeling too nervous to speak.

“It’s okay,” Officer Yoko told him. “We understand that you’ve been through quite a lot, but we promise that we’re going to get you help. We just need you to answer a few questions for us so we can begin an investigation on your father.”

Hinata nodded again, this time simply answering, “Okay.”

Officer Adachi clicked a pen open and Yoko pressed a button on what seemed to be a recording device. “Are you ready? You can take as much time to answer as you need to okay?”

“Okay,” Hinata answered. “I’m ready.” He could feel his body trembling but tried his hardest to stay calm.

Officer Adachi smiled. “Okay Shouyou. Can you please start by telling us your name and age?”

“My name is Hinata Shouyou. I’m fifteen years old,” Hinata stated. He gripped the sides of his seat tightly, trying to still his shakiness.

“What is your father’s name?”

“Hinata Dai.”

“How long have you lived with your father?”

Hinata chewed at his bottom lip. “Um, he used to live with us when I was little but he left when I was about five. He moved back last year in January,” Hinata explained.

Adachi wrote something down. “And who all lives in your house beside you and your father?”

“My mother and little sister.”

“And has he ever hurt either of them?”

Hinata shook his head. “No. Just me.” He took another shaky breath, trying to stay calm. They were just here to help.

“So Ms. Kageyama told us that your father has been hurting you, is that correct?”

“Y-yes,” Hinata squeaked out.

“It’s okay Shouyou, you’re doing great.” Officer Yoko told him. Hinata just nodded.

Adachi continued. “When was the first time your father hurt you?”

Hinata frowned. He didn’t want to think about it. “It was in June,” he said quietly. “Right after I got home from a volleyball game-“ Hinata paused, taking a deep breath. “He uh, he hit me because I was home late from volleyball.”

The officers nodded. “How did he hurt you, Shouyou?”

Hinata pursed his lips, staring down at his feet for a minute. The officers just waited for him to answer patiently. “The first time he ever did it he slapped my face.”

“And what about other times?”

“Sometimes he used his fists,” he said quietly. “But mostly a belt.” Hinata felt his throat closing up. “And he would throw me around.” Hinata felt like he might throw up at any second, and tried to focus on the fact that Kageyama was standing outside the door.

“You’re doing great. Just few more okay?” Officer Adachi said.

HInata nodded, trying to calm down.

“Where does he hit you?”

“Mostly my back and chest. Sometimes my arms too.” Hinata suddenly felt like he was reliving each and every hit over and over again in his mind. He buried his face in his hands. “I’m sorry,” he squeaked.

“It’s quite alright,” Officer Yoko told him. “Take your time.”

Hinata steadied his breathing for the most part and looked up from his hands. “Okay.”

The officers both nodded. “How often does your dad hit you?”

Hinata frowned. “Almost every day,” he said. “He hasn’t for the past week because the last time he hurt me too much and I couldn’t go to school. He couldn’t have people find out…. That’s his biggest rule.”

Officer Adachi quickly scribbled things down before asking “What was his biggest rule?”

“That nobody can find out what he does to me- that I can’t tell or-“ Hinata stopped, knowing that he was breaking that rule this very minute. “-or he’ll kill me.”

“It’s okay Shouyou. It’s a good thing you broke that rule because now you can get help,” Yoko said. Hinata nodded.

“Can you tell us more about his rules?”

Hinata nodded. “Yeah, I’m not allowed to hang out with my friends, or go anywhere but school, or talk about volleyball or have friends over. I can’t do anything fun really, except volleyball.”

The officers nodded. “One final question. Has your father tried to contact you since yesterday when you didn’t come home?”

Hinata shook his head. “No, I broke my phone so he doesn’t know where I am. He can’t call me.”

“Okay those are the only questions we have for you right now,” Officer Yoko explained. “We’ll have to talk to you more in the future but don’t worry, we won’t make you see your father. We just need you to fill out these papers.” Yoko handed Hinata a clipboard and pen. “The first one is an agreement stating that everything you told us today is true, and that you are willing to make this an official statement so we can take action against your father.”

Hinata simply nodded, signing the first page and flipping to the next.

“This one is an agreement stating that you will be under the temporary care of Kageyama Emi until your father is out of your residence.” Hinata’s eyes widened at that statement, not expecting his friend’s other to take him in like this, even if it is only temporarily. “Your friend’s mother already signed the paperwork agreeing to this but you need to as well.” Hinata agreed, signing the paper and flipping to the last. “Now this one is just an information page. We’ll need the first and last names of everyone living in your house at the moment, including yourself. We’ll also need you to write your address, birthday, school, and all of the information listed on the paper. I’ll be back in a few moments to collect these form you okay?”

Hinata nodded. This all felt so real. He was going to be living with Kageyama and his mother for who knows how long. He wasn’t going to have a father anymore. He was basically signing his father strait into prison. His hands trembled as he filled out the paper, hoping that his handwriting was clear enough to read. His mind wandered and he suddenly realized how pissed his father probably was at him right now. Hinata was missing, his mother and Natsu were probably worried sick. His father was probably out looking for him. He was probably furious and more than likely wanted his own son dead. Hinata dropped the clipboard and pen, letting them clank to the ground as a sob escaped his mouth.

Officer Adachi was suddenly there, picking up the fallen items, making sure they were completely filled out. She knelt in front of where HInata sat and rested a hand on his shoulder, causing him to flinch away slightly. “I know it’s hard, kid,” she said quietly. “But we’re going to get everything sorted out, okay? And in the meantime you have wonderful people to stay with. I can tell that your friend out there cares about you a lot, and I’m sure your team does too. You’re gonna make it through this.”

Hinata smiled weakly, though tears were blurring his vision. “I was really scared to come here.”

“I bet you were. I’m glad you did though,” the officer smiled, standing up. “We have one more thing that you’ll have to do for us today and then you’ll be able to go home alright?” Hinata nodded. “Why don’t you come with me?”

Hinata stood up and followed the lady out of the small office, and Kageyama was standing against the wall right where he said he’d be. Kageyama could tell that Hinata was relieved to be out of the room, and frowned when he saw that his eyes were red and puffy. “Your friend can come with you for this if you want him too,” Officer Adachi told Hinata.

“Please,” Hinata said, reaching for Kageyama’s hand, who accepted it immediately. Holding Kageyama’s hand had become his main source of comfort in the past day. The two followed the officer to another room that was empty besides for a small desk with a computer. “What do I have to do?” Hinata asked.

“We’ll to take photographs of your bruises for evidence. I know it’s not the most pleasant thing but we have to do it soon before they heal.” Hinata suddenly realized that people would see the marks across his skin and shook his head, turning towards Kageyama.

‘Wait, I can’t do that. Why do we have to take pictures?” He was panicking and Kageyama squeezed his hand.

“I know it’s not easy, sweetie. That’s why I told you that he could come too,” she said, referring to Kageyama, who had a sorry look in his eyes.

“I don’t want anyone to see,” Hinata trembled.

“I know, but this is the only evidence we have. If we don’t have this evidence we might not be able to get your father out of the house. Of course, we can’t make you take the pictures, but if you don’t we won’t have any evidence.”

Hinata felt like throwing up again. He gripped Kageyama’s hand tightly, wanting nothing more than to disappear from the current situation and never have to deal with any of this again.

“I’ll give you a few minutes to decide,” Officer Adachi said, stepping out of the room.

“Kageyama, I can’t do this, I can’t, this is too much,” the boy trembled. “I don’t want them to see.”

“Hey,” Kageyama whispered. “You’ve already gotten this far. Nobody is going to judge you. They just want to help.”

“I- I know. It’s just embarrassing. I don’t want them to see,” he said quietly, staring down at his shoes.

“I know you don’t want them to but it’s the only evidence they have,” Kageyama said.

HInata buried his face in his hands and took a deep breath. “I hate this.” A pair of hands were suddenly wrapped around his wrists, gently pulling his hands away form his face.

“Shouyou,” Kageyama’s voice was soft and traced with worry for his friend.

“I’m gonna do. Obviously I’m gonna do it,” hinata squeaked out, avoiding Kagyeama’s eyes. “I just need a minute.”

Kageyama just nodded, letting go of Hinata’s wrists.

“Have you decided what you want to do yet?” Officer Adachi’s voice was suddenly back, too soon in Hinata’s opinion. The boy nodded.

“I’ll do it. I have to.” His voice was so quiet, and Kageyama couldn’t remember a time where Hinata had ever been so silent in all the time he’d known him.

“Okay. It will only take a moment,” Adachi smiled, pulling a camera out of the bag on her shoulder. “Shouyou, I’ll have you stand in front of this white wall right here, okay?” She gestured to the wall across from where they were standing.

Hinata obliged, moving reluctantly towards the wall. Officer Adachi smiled and inserted an sd card into the camera.

“Alright, you’ll need to remove your shirt now. Don’t worry,” she said kindly. “Nobody can judge you here.”

Hinata nodded, reaching for the end of his shirt, hesitating before pulling it up a few inches. He looked to Kageyama, who just gave him a quick nod, as if trying to reassure him. He continued to remove his shirt completely and held it awkwardly in his hands as if unsure what to do with it.

Kageyama stepped forward and took the shirt from Hinata. “Thanks,” Shouyou mumbled. He pretended not to notice the look of horror on Officer Apache’s face when she saw his bruises.

Okay Hinata, just face towards me and I’ll take a couple of photos.” The camera clicked a few times. “Now turn to the side.” A few more clicks. “To the back.” click. click. click. “Other side.” Click. “All done,” Officer Adachi said, pulling the sense cap on the camera. Hinata rushed towards his friend, taking his shirt back. “I’ll call Ms. Kageyama with more information soon, okay? Until then here is my number,” she said, handing Hinata a small card with her information on it “If your dad contacts you or tries to find you anywhere please call right away.”

Hinata nodded. “Thank you for helping me,” he said quietly.

“Of course,” she smiled. “I’ll talk to you again very soon, Shouyou. You’re free to go home now.”

He nodded and Kageyama led the way out of the small room and back to the front of the building. “They said I’m free to go,” hinata said once they were with Ms. Kageyama again.

“Alright,” she smiled, standing up. “How did it go?”

“It wasn’t as bad as I thought,” Hinata admitted. “I’m glad they’re going to help.”

“That’s great. I was thinking we could go out to dinner tonight. Unless you’d rather eat in, Shouyou.”

“No, that would be great. Thank you so much,” he said as they walked out the doors. They piled into the car, Hinata feeling much lighter and less stressed than he had earlier. Kageyama’s mom began driving and it was silent for a while until Hinata said something.

“The officers told me that you wanted to take me in until this is over,” he said quietly. “You didn’t have to do that. Thank you so much. I don’t know what I’d do without you and Tobio,” he admitted.

“Of course, sweetie. Don’t thank me,” she said kindly. “Here, let’s listen to some music.” She flipped the radio on and music filled the vehicle.

A small smile made it’s way to Hinata’s lips. He leaned a little closer to Kageyama’s side. He knew that he was safe as long as he was here with the Kageyamas. Kageyama looked down at him and laced their fingers together. “You were really brave today,” Tobio told him, and Hinata felt loved for the first time in months.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading! I appreciate all of your wonderful comments!


	6. Chapter six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow Im so sorry that this chapter is so late! I rewrote it like three times because I wasn't happy with it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! Please please please leave a comment with any feedback. I love reading them!

After having dinner with Tobio and his mother, Hinata felt like he could finally take a breath and calm down. People were going to help him now. He wasn’t alone anymore. He felt like his life had become a broken puzzle, but was now slowly coming together piece by piece.

“You’re going to have to go back to school on Monday,” Ms. Kageyama said when they arrived at the Kageyama’s house. Hinata would get in trouble with the school if he missed anymore days. Today was a Friday, so at least he had the entire rest of the weekend to prepare to go back. He knew he was going to have loads of homework to make up, and was thankful that he was living with Kageyama, who could help him.

“At least I can play again,” he said quietly. “I miss volleyball.”

Kageyama turned to him as they walked through the front door, a small smile on his face. “Everyone will be happy to see you.”

A feeling of normalcy washed over him at the thought of his teammates. He felt as though it had been ages since the last time he saw them, and would be glad to play with them again soon. “I’ll be happy too,” he admitted.

“I have some work to do but you two can do whatever. Shouyou, make yourself at home okay? What’s ours is yours.” Ms. Kageyama smiled at the boys before retreating into her room.

Hinata nodded towards Ms. Tobio. “Thank you.”

“Let’s go upstairs,” Kageyama said, reaching out to take Hinata’s hand. The smaller boy nodded, not sure what his friend had in mind for them to do, but following along anyway. Tobio led Hinata to his room, letting go of his hand once they got there. “I’m sorry there’s not much to do here,” he apologized. “Basically all I do is play volleyball so I don’t have much here-“

“It’s okay, I don’t care Kageyama. We can just hang out like friends do.”

Kageyama stared at Shouyou. Hinata didn’t even care that Kageyama was literally the most boring person on the planet? This was what having a best friend was like, then.

“Oi, you’re making a scary face again, Bakayama.” Shouyou was frowning at his friend, his forehead wrinkling up in confusion.

The taller boy blinked a few times. “Oh,” he mumbled. “Sorry, I was just thinking. It’s not important.”

Shouyou looked up at his friend again. “What were you thinking about?” Kageyama looked almost nervous from the question.

“It’s nothing. I’m just still glad you’re okay.”

Hinata just stared, not really wanting to talk about it that much. 

Kageyama pursed his lips, debating whether or not to say what he was about to say. “I think you deserve to know.. I was really- I was scared when you kept not coming to school. The team probably noticed. I couldn’t even toss right or play or anything. I was a mess. So-“ Kageyama chewed at his lip. “So thanks for being okay. I thought I was going to lose you. And not just from volleyball.”

“You didn’t have to be so worried.”

Tobio frowned. “I couldn’t help it, dumbass,” he said defensively. “It’s you.” Hinata smiled sadly and Kageyama didn’t understand why Hinata couldn’t see how much he needed him.

Kageyama stepped forward and suddenly embraced Hinata. Hinata wasn’t used to affectionate Tobio quite yet, but so far he had no complaints. “I’m glad you told me.”

“It wasn’t easy.”

“It was brave.”

“I’m not brave.”

“You’re braver than me.”

Hinata frowned. “Am not.”

“Are too.”

“No way! You’re so scary and everyone is afraid of you!”

“That’s not what brave means, stupid!”

Hinata crossed his arms, letting go of Kageyama. “Still!”

Kageyama’s face shifted from a look of frustration so something softer. Something kind. “Bravery is what you did. You fought through a lot. You’re the brave one, not me.”

Hinata blinked a few times, processing Kageyama’s words. “Does this mean I finally beat you in something?”

“In bravery you’d beat me every time.”

This made the smaller boy smile brightly. It was the first time that Kageyama had seen him genuinely smile in a long time. It happened to be contagious apparently, because Hinata’s eyes widened. “Tobio! You’re smiling and its actually not scary!”

Blush crept onto Kageyama’s cheeks. “Shut up,” he mumbled, looking away.

Hinata shook his head. “I made Scary-yama smile,” he giggled softly.

The two just stood there in silence for a few minutes, neither one of them knowing what to say next. Hinata’s eyes bounced around his friend’s room, taking in the blank walls and volleyball paraphernalia scattered across the wooden floor. It seemed appropriate for someone like Kageyama to have a room like this. Hinata was so distracted by his surroundings that he didn’t even notice the blue eyes that were trained on him, staring intensely.

The setter couldn’t help but find himself staring. Staring at everything that was Hinata Shouyou because he was so beautiful and so perfect and he was standing right here. Hinata was safe and protected and loved as long as he was with Kageyama. And how had Tobio never noticed how warm the smaller boy’s eyes were, or the way he often rocked back and forth on his toes,(which was adorable by the way) or the way he chewed on his lip when he stared off into space? How had he never noticed the tiny freckles that dotted Hinata’s shoulders when his shirts were too big and fell from his shoulders? How had he never noticed noticed how completely and utterly beautiful Hinata Shouyou was?

“You’re pretty.”

The statement startled Hinata, who was previously engulfed in the silence. “What?” he asked, his head snapping up to meet Tobio’s eyes.

“You’re pretty.”

Hinata blushed furiously, staring down at his shoes, which suddenly became very interesting. “Shut up,” he mumbled. “Am not.”

“Are too.” Kageyama stepped closer to Hinata, and the smaller boy looked up at his friend. Tobio was so close that Hinata swore he could feel him breathing and hear him thinking. The last person who had gotten this close to him and was towering over him was his father, which made Hinata panic for a moment, stepping back slightly. Something stopped him though. This wasn’t actually scary at all. This wasn’t his father. This was Tobio. He didn’t want to run from Tobio. He wanted to be closer to him.

“Shouyou,” Kageyama said, and it was so quiet that Hinata barely even heard it from this close. “I love you.”

Hinata blinked, biting his bottom lip. “Yeah. I love you too.”

Kageyama shook his head, closing his eyes for a moment. He seemed to be fighting to speak, seemed to be fighting to make the smaller boy understand. “No, not like that. I- I’m in love with you.”

Hinata’s eyes widened a bit, and his cheek flushed a deep pink. “Kageyama,” he started, but the setter cut him off.

“I don’t love a lot of things. I love volleyball, and I love my mom, and the team, but-“ he paused, as if thinking of the right words to use. “But that’s about it. And I’ve never met anyone who-“ he paused again. “You’re my favorite thing in the entire world. I didn’t think it was possible to feel like this. I love you differently than those other things. More than them.”

Hinata didn’t know what do or say. He just stared up at Kageyama. Was his friend just saying this because of what had happened to him? Was he trying to make him feel better? No. Kageyama wouldn’t do that. Kageyama didn’t waste his time lying about things. It must have been hard for Kageyama to admit any of that. Shouyou felt like his head was spinning. He couldn’t bring himself to break eye contact, and Kageyama just stared back, his blush visible despite the darkness in the room.

“Can I kiss you?” Kageyama’s quiet voice broke the silence and Hinata didn’t even answer, but instead lifted himself up onto his tippy toes to kiss Kageyama. It hadn’t even crossed the red head’s mind that he wanted to kiss Tobio until he was presented with the idea of it. The kiss wasn’t very long, but left both boys staring at one another, lips tingling. Kageyama leaned in this time, wrapping his arms around the smaller boy’s waist to keep him close. Hinata tasted of something sweet. Kageyama couldn’t quite pinpoint it, but it felt like a drug, pulling him in deeper and making him want even more. He had never kissed anyone before, but kissing Hinata didn’t feel strange at all. It felt perfect. And Hinata was kissing him back and it made his mind fuzzy and his entire body feel warm.

They pulled apart again, Kageyama feeling pleasantly dizzy. “Are you sure that’s okay?” He asked Hinata quietly. The smaller boy simply nodded, a small smile on his face.

“That was really okay,” he said, giggling quietly, which made Kageyama want to fling himself into the sun because how was Hinata so adorable? “We can do it again right?”

“Obviously, dumbass,” Kageyama said fondly. “As long as you want me here, I’m not leaving you. Even if you don’t want this,” he pressed a quick kiss to Hinata’s lips. ‘I’ll stay no matter what.”

Hinata smiled because he knew that Kageyama was being honest. He knew the setter, and he knew that he would never say anything like this unless he'd though about it and meant it.

“When you’re with me, everything’s alright,” he said quietly, tears swelling in his eyes. For the first time in months, they were tears of happiness. Kageyama pulled the boy into a hug.

“I love you,” Shouyou whispered.

“I want to show you something,” Kageyama said, pulling back and grabbing Hinata’s hands.

“What is it?”

“Just come,” Kageyama replied, leading Hinata out of the bedroom. He took the boy to the hall closet and pulled out two jackets, handing one to the smaller boy. “Put this on.” Hinata did, the jacket smelling strongly of the setter.

“Where are we going?” The smaller boy asked as he zipped up the jacket.

“Just wait.” Kageyama grabbed his hand again, taking him through the house and out the front door. It was late evening at this point, and the sun was beginning to disappear for the night. Kageyama led Hinata down the road, away from city and towards the tiny park that they sometimes practiced at before Hinata’s father stopped letting him go out.

‘Why are we at the park?” Hinata asked.

“Stop asking so many questions.” Kageyama took Hinata past all of the play equipment, all the way to where the park almost ended, where there was nothing but an empty field of grass. That’s where the boy stopped walking, leaving Hinata standing behind him clutching his hand with a confused look on his face.

“Bakayama,” Hinata said quietly.

“Don’t make fun of me okay?” The taller boy asked.

Hinata simply nodded, still confused. The setter sat down in the grass, pulling Hinata to sit beside him. Then he let go of the boy’s hand and leaned back, laying down, the grass tickling his neck. Hinata followed, laying beside his friend. They sat in silence for a second, until Kageyama spoke again.

“I used to come here a lot,” the setter said quietly, tearing Hinata’s focus away from the sky. “I like to look at the stars because they make me feel same somehow. No matter what’s going on in my life, the stars are always constant. It’s comforting.”

Hinata smiled. “I knew you weren’t totally heartless and scary.”

“Shut up,” Kageyama snapped half heartedly. “I just thought maybe- Maybe if the stars make me feel better, then they’ll make you feel better too.”

"When was the first time you came here?" Hinata asked quietly.

Kageyama smiled sadly, "When I was really young," he said quietly. "My parents told me they were getting a divorce and I was really upset. I ran out of my house and just kind of ended up here." 

Hinata watched Kageyama intently.

"Ever since then I kept coming here whenever I just wanted to get away from people. I came here a lot during middle school," he said quietly, and Hinata knew that he was referring to his 'King of the court' days. 

Hinata smiled weakly, reaching for Kageyama’s hand in the grass. “Thank you for bringing me to your special spot Tobio.”

Kageyama chewed at his bottom lip, trying to fathom the right words to say. “I hoped that the stars would help you like they help me.”

“They’re beautiful.” Hinata said quietly. A moment passed in silence before Kageyama spoke.

“You’re beautiful.”

And suddenly Hinata was a blushing mess. Tobio turned to face Hinata, the smaller boy doing the same. kageyama couldn't help but think of how much more beautiful Hinata was than the stars. They were kissing again before either of them knew what was happening. It was like one second they were staring at each other, and the next their lips were crashing together like waves. And when the kiss was over Kageyama pulled Hinata towards him, the smaller boy rolling over and settling on Kageyama’s chest. “I love you,” the setter whispered into Hinata’s mop of orange hair.

“I love you,” the boy replied quietly. Kageyama wrapped his arms tightly around Hinata.

“Um Hin- Shouyou?” Kageyama asked quietly.

“Yeah?”

“Will you um, I mean-“ The setter tripped over his words. “Are we like-“

“A couple?" Hinata spoke the words that Tobio had been trying so hard to say. "I think so. We should be at least. I would like that,” Hinata said. Kageyama let out a sigh, relieved that Hinata wanted it too.

“Really?”

“Obviously,” Hinata giggled.

Kageyama smiled, pressing his lips to Hinata’s temple. How on earth could one person be so cute? “I love you,” Tobio repeated over and over again.

And Hinata was giggling, and Kageyama smiled brightly, and for a brief moment under the stars, everything was fine. Hinata was all smiles and giggles, and giddy. Back to his old self, if only for a short amount of time. It made Kageyama smile, because for the first time in a long time Hinata had been brought back to life. He knew this wasnt going to last forever, and that Hinata wasn’t fixed, but Kageyama knew how to make him happy, and as long as he knew that, it was okay.

Neither boy knew just how long they stayed there, but when they walk back to Tobio’s house it was freezing outside, the autumn air cutting thorough their jackets. Kageyama wrapped an arm around his frien- boyfriend, and pressing kisses to his temple every few steps.

They went upstairs to Kageyama’s room and collapsed on the boy’s bed together, Hinata curling into Kageyama’s side. “Love you,” he mumbled before falling asleep.

“I love you too,” Kageyama whispered fondly, a small smile still on his lips.

Kageyama didn’t say it out loud, but he planned on loving Hinata for a long, long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!!!


	7. Chapter seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw-abuse/fighting in this chapter
> 
> Thank you all so much for the amazing comments! You guys are the reason I write. Thanks for the support!

The first thought that crossed Kageyama’s mind when he woke up was that Hinata Shouyou was his boyfriend. His boyfriend! He almost couldn’t believe that last night was even real, but thinking back to it he happily remembered that it was, and Hinata was curled against his side to prove it. Kageyama remembered the smile on Hinata’s face last night and blushed, covering his face with his hands because, god, he was so lucky.

He sat up, trying to move Hinata as little as possible before getting up out of bed. He assumed that Hinata wouldn’t wake up for a little while longer, which was perfect. He got out of bed carefully, and tip toed over to his desk to check the time on this phone. It was about six thirty in the morning, which wasn’t surprising. He’d always been quite an early bird. He noticed that he still hadn’t replied to any of the messages from the team, but set his phone back on the desk anyway, deciding to deal with it later. He glanced once more at Hinata before leaving the room and heading downstairs.

Kageyama Tobio was going to make his boyfriend some breakfast. That was a good boyfriend-y thing to do right? He decided on pancakes, digging through his kitchen cabinets in search for the ingredients he needed, still trying to be as quiet as possible. Once he gathered everything he needed, he got to work, heating up a pan and mixing the batter. He was actually doing pretty well, as there wasn’t a huge mess or anything. As he scooped the first few globs of batter onto the pan, a satisfied grin made it’s way to his face.

“What are you doing?” A sleepy voice asked from behind him, making him jump slightly.

“Gahh! What the hell? You’re supposed to still be asleep dumbass!” Kageyama exclaimed at the sight of his boyfriend.

“Are you making pancakes?” Shouyou asked as he rubbed his eyes, obviously still half asleep.

“It was supposed to be a surprise,” Kageyama muttered, a little bit annoyed that Hinata was up already. “I thought you were going to sleep longer.”

Hinata frowned, well, more like he pouted at Kageyama, causing the taller boy’s chest to hurt because HInata was too cute and it wasn’t fair. “Well its not my fault!” Shouyou mumbled. “You left.”

Tobio frowned and stepped forward to hug Hinata. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to surprise you with breakfast.” He kissed the top of his boyfriend’s head.

“Yeah well your surprise is burning a little,” Hinata mumbled against Tobio’s chest. It took Kageyama a minute to process what the shorter boy had said.

“Wha-“ Kageyama let go of Hinata and turned back to the pan, where three lumps of burnt pancake batter were smoking. “Dumbass you distracted me!” He said, grabbing the pan and dumping the pancakes into the trash.

Hinata just held back a tiny giggle as he watched Kageyama. “It’s not funny!” The setter said with a scowl on his face, placing the pan back on the stove to finish making the pancakes.

All of the pancakes were eventually made, Kageyama being extremely careful not to burn any more of them while Hinata watched, sitting on a barstool in their kitchen. “Thanks for making breakfast,” The boy said, accepting a plate from the taller of the two.

Kageyama just nodded, sitting beside Hinata with his own plate.

“I think I’m going to tell the team what happened,” Hinata said suddenly.

Kageyama turned to look at his boyfriend, his mouth full of food. “You know you don’t have to,” he said quietly.

“Yeah I know but,” Hinata smiled sadly. “I want them to know. Not so they feel sorry for me or whatever but- I think they deserve to know.”

Kageyama smiled at that. “I told you you were brave,” he said matter of factly and took another bite of his pancakes.

Hinata just smiled, looking down at his plate. The sudden sound of Kageyama’s house phone ringing caused both boys to turn their heads towards the source, then to look at each other. “I’ll get it,” Kageyama said, standing up to answer the phone. He wondered who would be calling on their house phone so early in the morning.

“Hello?” He answered, wondering who the hell it was. Hardly anyone ever called their landline anymore.

“Is this the Kageyama’s number?” A woman’s voice asked. She sounded very on edge and also vaguely familiar. Something was off about her, and Kageyama couldn’t place it.

“Yes,” he answered simply. “Who is this?”

“Please tell me he’s with you,” the woman pleaded, her voice shaky. He looked over to Hinata and his first instinct was to panic. It was Hinata’s mother.

Hinata seemed to notice the look on Kageyama’s face because he opened his mouth to speak, but Kageyama quickly put a finger up to his mouth, telling Hinata to be quiet. “Um, I don’t know who you’re talking about or even who you are,” Tobio lied.

“Listen, you are Kageyama Tobio, am I correct? Please tell me Shouyou is with you. He’s missing. He’s not answering his phone,” the woman was obviously panicking. “I knew he ran away but I thought he’d come back by now. Please. We’re so worried.”

Kageyama took a shaky breath, not knowing what to say. He knew that Hinata’s mom wasn’t innocent in all of this, just watching as her son was beaten by a monster of a man. He almost resented the woman. He didn’t trust her, so he couldnt tell her the truth.

“Hinata isn’t home?” Kageyama asked, tying to throw his boyfriend’s mom off. If she knew her son was here she would probably do anything to get him back, and Kageyama could afford to let HInata back into that house. Not when they were so close to getting his father out of there. “I thought he’s been home sick?” Lies.

A sniffle from the other line let Kageyama know that his plan was working. “Listen, I wouldn’t be mad if he was there,” Hinata’s mom whispered. “Is he okay?”

Kageyama pursed his lips. He couldn’t fall for it. It was way too risky. He looked over at Hinata, whose eyes were wide with confusion and worry. ‘I have to protect him no matter what,’ he thought to himself.

“I haven’t seen him in almost two weeks.” Kageyama asked, trying to make himself sound worried. “Wait, is he gonna be okay?”

Hinata’s mom sniffled again. “I’m sorry I bothered you,” she whispered, the line going dead. Kageyama set the phone back into it’s place and looked over to Shouyou, whose eyes were brimming with tears.

“It was my mom huh?” He whispered, suddenly burying his face in his hands.

Kageyama nodded. “Yeah,” he said quietly, going back to where Hinata was sitting and wrapping his arms tightly around him. “Don’t be mad. I couldn’t tell her you were here. Your dad could have been listening. I’m sorry.”

“I understand,” Hinata whispered. “I just wish my mom didn’t have to worry though. And Natsu is probably freaking out.” Hinata choked on his words, sniffling into Kageyama’s shirt.

“I’m sorry,” Tobio mumbled, running his hand across the boy’s back soothingly. “I wish I could make everything not suck.”

Hinata looked up and smiled weakly at his boyfriend. “You’re the only thing that doesn’t suck right now,” Hinata said quietly. “Life is hard.”

Kageyama’s chest tightened because Hinata Shouyou’s life should not be hard. It should be fun and happy and filled with love, and when the boy said things like this it made Tobio hate Shouyou’s father even more. “I know it is,” Kageyama said quietly. “But it will get better soon. I know it will.” He pressed a kiss to Shouyou’s forehead.

“Can we talk about something else?” Hinata asked quietly. “I don’t want to think about any of this right now.”

“Of course,” Kageyama told him. “What do you want to talk about?”

Hinata was quiet for a minute, but then spoke up. “I was actually wondering… Will you toss to me? I want to play.”

Kageyama smiled at Shouyou’s question: _Will you toss to me?_  It was such a normal statement. Something Hinata asked him all the time. “Yeah,” Kageyama grinned. Lets go to the park! We can play.”

Shouyou grinned widely and squeezed Kagayama in a tight hug before jumping up. “Let’s go!” He said excitedly, pulling Kageyama up by his arm.

Tobio grinned and nodded, happy with the sudden change in mood. “We should get dressed,” he pointed out, and Hinata realized that they were both still wearing their clothes from last night. They ran up the stairs in the house into Kageyama’s room, where Kageyama gave Hinata some practice shorts that he hoped were small enough, and an old t shirt. The two changed quickly, aching to play together again. Kageyama grabbed one of the many volleyballs form his floor and they ran downstairs again.

The two practically sprinted to the park, racing each other. “Ready?” Kgeyama asked anxiously when they arrived. Hinata grinned and nodded quickly.

“Toss to me!”

And with those three words things almost seemed normal again. The two practiced volleyball just like always had, occasionally bickering but still having fun. Kageyama was glad that Hinata could get his mind off of what had happened to him. It was almost as if everything was back to normal. There was something different though. Something between the two that had changed since they last played together. There was an undeniable feeling of absolute and complete trust that seemed to flow between them now. Everything they did was more in tune than ever before. Kageyama couldn’t pinpoint exactly where this new feeling had come from until he saw the way Hinata’s eyes light up after a perfect spike. It was love.

Love was transforming them not only as a couple, but as a team. As a pair. Together they could be invincible.

They played for a couple of hours before deciding to head back to the house. They were both getting pretty tired. Instead of running to Kageyama’s they decided to walk, their hands tied together and a blush across both of their faces. “Thanks for playing with me,” Hinata said quietly. “I missed it.”

“I missed it too.”

“You’ve still been playing!” Hinata pointed out. “How could you even miss it?”

“Because I haven’t been playing with you,” Kageyama admitted.

Hinata blushed even harder at that comment and chewed on his bottom lip. “You’re dumb,” he mumbled with a small smiled. ‘What a dumb thing to say.”

Kageyama just looked at the boy fondly and shook his head. “Whatever dumbass.”

“You’re not allowed to call me that anymore! I’m your boyfriend now,” Hinata protested. “You have to say nice things to me.”

Kageyama rolled his eyes. “Okay fine. I love you,” he told Shouyou, who smiled, satisfied with Kageyama’s statement. “…dumbass,” he quickly added with a grin, causing Hinata to make a sound of protest.

Hinata was about to come back with an insult towards Kageyama but a loud voice cut him off.

“Shouyou!” A man was suddenly blocking the couple’s path back to Tobio’s house. They hadn’t even noticed him standing there. “Where the hell have you been?”

Hinata instantly squeezed Kageyama’s hand insanely tight and flinched away, quickly hiding behind his boyfriend. Kageyama could feel him trembling and suddenly realized exactly who this man was. It was Shouyou’s dad. He could tell by the orange hair and striking resemblance to the smaller boy. Unlike Shouyou however, this man was huge, all muscles, and no smile. Tobio was immediately filled with pure anger and hatred and it took everything in him not to attack the man standing in front of him. If he was alone and Hinata wasn’t with him he probably would. How could this man have the audacity to do this?

“Stay away from him,” Kageyama growled at the man. His mind was racing with ways they could get out this situation. How had the police not gone to arrest him yet? He thought Mr. Hinata would surely be locked up by now.

“He’s my son. I’m just here to take him home. we’ve all been worried sick!” The man said, stepping towards the pair. Hinata had his face buried in Kageyama’s back at this point, tears soaking through it. He was clutching onto the setter tightly.

“You have no right to be here,” Kageyama yelled back, voice unfaltering. “I know exactly what you did to him. You don’t care that he’s been missing you asshole!”

Hinata’s father laughed bitterly. “You must be Kageyama, huh? I’ve heard enough about you and your gay little ass,” the man growled, stepping forward and pushing Kageyama hard, easily sending him to the ground, taking Hinata with him.

“Don’t touch him!” Shouyou shrieked. Kageyama stood up again, pulling Hinata with him.

“I’m taking you back home.” Mr. Hinata stepped forward and grabbed Shouyou by the arm harshly, pulling him away from Kageyama. “You’re never gonna see your stupid friends ever again. And forget about volleyball.”

“No! Tobio!” Hinata screamed, reaching out to his boyfriend.

Something inside Tobio snapped and he lunged forward, punching Hinata’s father square in the jaw, causing him to let go of Hinata, who quickly scurried away from the man. “I said to leave him the fuck alone you bastard!” Kageyama had never been so angry in his entire life.

The man retaliated, swinging at Kageyama, who barely dodged the man’s fist.

“Kageyama!” Hinata cried.

“Go, Shouyou! Run!” Kageyama shouted. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t follow you but you have to run now!”

“I’m not leaving you with him!” Hinata cried, looking more terrified than Kageyama had ever seen him.

“Go!” Kageyama screamed, and Hinata hesitated but nodded, tears obviously visible in his eyes, which absolutely broke Kageyama’s heart. He never expected this to happen. Not ever. But he knew that he had to make sure Hinata could get home safely. It didn’t matter what happened to him, as long as Shouyou could escape. There was no way in hell Tobio was ever going to let this bastard take Hinata back.

“I’ll get help!” Shouyou said and began running, his father trying to chase after him. Kageyama sprang into action, tackling the man and effectively knocking him over. There was no way that Tobio could win this fight. He knew logically that it was impossible, but it didn’t matter as long as Hinata had enough time to get away. He just had to buy enough time for him to get to his house.

“You little shit.” Mr. Hinata threw Tobio off of him, causing the boy to hit his head hard on the pavement. _No no no_ he couldn’t let this stop him. Tobio jumped back up, pulling the man back to the ground and hitting him hard across the face with his fist. It almost felt good to hit the man, especially after everything he’d done to Shouyou.

Something inside the man snapped, and Kageyama knew he was in for it. Something in the man’s eyes switched. They seemed truly evil and made Kageyama want to curl up and hide because this man was absolutely terrifying. Suddenly punches were flying at him and it was hit after hit after hit and the pain was so surreal. Tobio had never experienced pain like this before. It was terrible, never ending, unbearable. He could feel the bruises instantly forming across his skin as the man hit him. Harder and harder with every strike.

Kageyama began sobbing, not because of the pain, but because he realized that this is what Hinata dealt with everyday for who knows how long and it must have been so much worse for him. Kageyama felt so incredibly terrible because he couldn’t even imagine how much this had fucked Hinata up. He couldn’t imagine the physical and mental toll that this had taken on Hinata, especially since it was his own father doing it..

Kageyama knew that his plan had worked when Shouyou’s father suddenly stopped hitting him. Shouyou had to have gotten to his house by now. He must be safe. He was getting help. Everything would be okay now, and Hinata’s father was just realizing that he’d missed his chance.

“Damn it!” Mr. Hinata shouted, sending a kick to Kageyama’s side, causing the boy to whimper in pain. “You little fuck.” The man began running in the direction that Hinata had gone, abandoning Tobio on the side of the street. The boy sat up, pain shooting through his body, tears streaming down his cheeks. At least Hinata was okay. Thats all that mattered.

He pushed himself up to standing, unable to imagine how Hinata managed to survive this every single day. It seemed pretty much impossible to him, but that just proved again how incredibly brave the boy was.

Kageyama knew there was no way that Hinata’s dad was going to find his house, but he still took a long route home just in case the man crossed paths with him and began to follow him. He made it home after about ten minutes, as he had to be carful about Hinata’s father. When he stepped through the front door two pairs of arms were suddenly embracing him, and he instantly began sobbing again. He told himself he wasn’t going to cry about this, as he wanted to stay string for Hinata, but he just couldn’t do it. “I’m sorry,” he whimpered.

His mother and Hinata both let go of him, watching him closely. It was rare to see the boy cry, so both were taken aback by the sight. “Why are you sorry? God, look what he did to you!” Hinata was grabbing Tobio’s hands and looking at the marks along his face with worried eyes. “I’m so so sorry he did this to you.”

Kageyama shook his head. “No,” he said, suddenly embracing his friend. “I’m sorry he did this to you. I can’t imagine going through that everyday, I can’t-“ Kageyama sobbed. ‘I’m so so sorry.”

The two stood there, holding onto eat other in silence, both of them now crying. “I can’t stay here,” Hinata whispered sadly. “It’s putting you in danger.”

Kageyama suddenly gripped the boy tighter. “Shut up. I’m not letting you go anywhere.”

“But look what he did. I feel awful. This shouldn’t have happened,” Hinata argued.

Kageyama’s mother, who had been silent until now, spoke up. “It shouldn’t have happened, you’re right,” she started. “But you’re staying. This was not your fault, it was that man’s.”

Hinata just shook is head in disbelief because Kageyama’s mother was the nicest woman in the entire world and he didn’t understand how she could still be so kind even after what his father had done to her son.

“You two really shouldn’t have gone out this morning. especially not without telling me first, but there’s nothing we can do about it now. I’ve already called the police. They say they’ve been searching for Hinata’s father since last night. I’m sure they’ll find him soon and take him into custody.” She stepped forward. “I don’t want either of you going anywhere until they tell me they’ve got him, understand?”

Hinata nodded, still obviously feeling terrible for what had happened. “This is all my fault.”

“This is not your fault,” Ms. Kageyama said quietly. “Nobody blames you.” She smiled weakly at him, and Hinata couldn’t believe how a woman could be so forgiving. Her own son was attacked and she still wasn’t going to give up on Hinata. “Tobio, sweetie, you should get some ice on your face. I’m going to make something for lunch okay?” She then said. “Go get cleaned up you two.”

The two nodded, going upstairs to Kageyama’s room. They both were silent, and took turns taking showers. Kageyama let Hinata borrow some more clothes, and the two sat on Kageyama’s bed silently, neither one wanting to talk about what had happened. They were both still so shaken up by it, and both felt unbelievably guilty and sorry for it.

“I’m sorry that he hurt you,” Hinata choked out, killing the silence. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t want this to happen. This is exactly why I couldn’t tell anyone. I was scared that something like this would happen.” Hinata was crying again, and Kageyama frowned, scooting closer to his boyfriend and wrapping an arm around him. He pressed a kiss to Hinata’s cheek.

“It’s not your fault. Don’t blame yourself for you shit father. He’s terrible, you’re not.”

“But you were crying. You never cry. He really hurt you, I can tell.” Hinata was staring down at his lap, tears falling down his face.

“I was crying because I realized that that was what you had to deal with every day and I couldn’t take it. I can’t believe how you dealt with that, Shouyou. You shouldn’t have ever had any of this happen. It’s horrible to think about.”

“So you aren’t mad?”

“God, of course I’m not mad. I just wish you never had to go through this.” Kageyama let his hand move up to push Hinata’s wet hair away from his forehead and pressed tiny kisses there. “I love you. And everything is going to be okay.”

Hinata smiled weakly, leaning up to gently kiss the bruise forming on Kageyama’s jawline. “I love you.”

The two were suddenly kissing, this time more passionately than they had before. The kisses were filled with so many emotions and so much love and Kageyama realized he would take a million more punches as long as it meant that Hinata would be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment with your thoughts!


	8. Chapter eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! College is rough. Thank you all for your wonderful comments, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

The Kageyama house was quiet for the next few hours. It consisted of it’s three inhabitants sitting in the living room watching movies in silence. Hinata sat pressed to Kageyama’s side, and he held an ice pack to his boyfriend’s face.  
Tobio’s mother sat on the other end of their couch. She was the one who had suggested watching some movies in the first place. Tobio assumed it was because she wanted to try to ease the mood in the house. Everyone seemed tense after what had happened earlier in the day. Tobio was just grateful that his mother wasn’t angry with Hinata because of what his father did.

Hinata stared up at Kageyama’s face, paying more attention to him than to the movie. Kageyama had his right arm wrapped around Hinata’s shoulders, keeping the boy close. He rubbed small circles on the boy’s arm, trying to reassure his boyfriend that he wasn’t upset with him for what had happened.  
Hinata let his head fall against Kageyama’s shoulder and Tobio was glad that his mother was pretending not to notice what was happening between the two, and especially glad that she wasn’t making a huge deal out of it. He knew that she must know by now that the two were more than friends. He’d never told his mother about his sexuality or how he felt towards Hinata but he knew that she wouldn’t care about that, just that he was happy. That didn’t mean that if the circumstances were different she wouldn’t be teasing them though.

The sound of phone ringing caused all three of them to jump slightly, and Ms. Kageyama stood up. “Don’t worry,” she smiled, making her way to the phone. “Hello?” She asked pleasantly, both boys watching in anticipation for what she would say next.“Thank you so much for letting us know,” she said, looking relived. Tobio and Shouyou shared a look, and Kageyama pressed a small kiss to Hinata’s temple.

“I’m sure it’s all okay,” he whispered. Hinata nodded.

“Yes, I understand. Thank you.” Ms. Kageyama hung up and smiled at the boys. “Shouyou sweetie, your father was just found and taken into custody. That was the police department.”

Kageyama llooked relived and squeezed Hinata’s arm. Hinata let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding in. “Are you okay?” Tobio asked after the boy hadn’t said anything.

Shouyou nodded. “Yeah. I just can’t believe this is actually happening. I thought that maybe this might never happen. I thought that maybe they wouldn’t ever get him, I don’t know.”

Tobio smiled weakly and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, not caring anymore about what his mother saw. “It’s only going to get better from here,” he assured the boy. “I promise you.”

Hinata nodded, hugging Tobio back tightly. He was crying, but mostly because he was relieved. He didn’t need to worry about that man anymore.  
He suddenly looked up to meet Ms. Kageyama’s eyes and smiled. “Thank you so much for helping me,” he said. “I don’t know what I would do without you guys.”

Kageyama pressed a quick kiss to Hinata’s forehead before letting go of the boy. Kageyama’s mother raised an eyebrow at the kiss but still didn’t say anything about it. “Don’t thank me sweetie,” she said. “The police said that you can’t go back home yet. Not until the whole trial is over, but you don’t need to worry okay? Just know that you won’t have to deal with him anymore.”

Hinata smiled, looking back and forth between Tobio and his mother gratefully. He couldn’t think of anything to say that would fully be able to express how incredibly thankful he felt in that moment.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Kageyama asked again, biting his lip with a worried expression on his face.

Hinata nodded. “Yeah. It’s just a lot to think about,” he admitted. “I’m okay.”  
Kageyama sighed, a small smile on his lips. He didn’t say it out loud, but he was incredibly relieved that Hinata’s father had been arrested. Shouyou was finally safe from any harm.   
~

On Monday morning, Hinata woke up with a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. He knew he was going back to school today and something about the idea made him extremely nervous. Kageyama seemed to notice this as they were walking to practice because he laced their fingers together and gave the smaller hand a squeeze.“You don’t have to tell everyone,” Kageyama stated.

Hinata chewed at his bottom lip. “But they deserve to know why I’ve been gone.”

“You don’t owe them anything, Shouyou. They’ll just be glad you’re back,” Kageyama reasoned, staring at their feet as they walked.

Hinata shook his head. “I don’t want to keep secrets. Besides, I let them down by not being there. They deserve to know why. I don’t want them to be mad at me.”

Kageyama stopped walking at those words, turning to grab hold of both of Hinata’s hands. “You didn’t let anyone down. Nothing that happened was even your fault, okay? Nobody’s mad at you.”

Hinata nodded, stepping forward and snaking his arms around Tobio’s middle. “Thank you,” he mumbled. Kageyama just held the boy back and pressed a quick kiss to his orange mop of hair. Hinata looked up at him and smiled weakly. “I want them to know. I know I don’t have to tell them but I want them to understand.”

Kageyama nodded, kissing his boyfriend on the forehead this time. “Then let’s go,” he said, lacing their fingers together again and walking to the gym.  
Kageyama pushed open the door, and Hinata stepped in, Kageyama following behind him. They were the last ones to arrive, which was odd as they were always the first in the past.

The first one to notice their arrival was Nishanoya. “Hinata!” The boy shouted, jumping up from where he was sitting on the floor and running towards the duo. “Where’ve you been?” He asked, not even waiting for an answer before speaking again. “We’ve been freaking out without you here!”

Hinata smiled, looking a bit overwhelmed, but genuinely happy to be back. “I’m glad I’m back now!” Is all he said.

“Is that Hinata?” Yamaguchi’s voice could be heard from across the room, and soon the team was all on their feet, greeting Hinata and asking him a million questions at once. Hinata just laughed nervously, not knowing where to begin or what to even say. This was going to be more difficult than he first thought.

“Um, well-” he was cut off by a voice much louder than everyone else’s.

“What’s going on?” It was Coach Ukai, who seemed confused about the amount of commotion happening in the gymnasium.

“Hinata’s back!” Tanaka cheered, pointing at the orange haired boy.

“Oh, I see,” Ukai could see the look of panic on Hinata’s face and decided to speak up for him. “Why don’t we all calm down okay?” Everyone seemed to pause at that statement, turning to Hinata, who seemed more than a little flustered. Kageyama, who hadn’t even budged from his position beside the boy, was looking at him with a worried expression.

“So where have you been Hinata?” Tanaka asked, breaking the strange silence that hung in the air.

“Remember, you don’t have to do it now unless you’re absolutely sure,” Kageyama whispered, placing a hand reassuringly on Hinata’s shoulder.

“I can do it,” he said, standing up a little straighter. “So uh-” Hinata began, all eyes in him. “I’m really sorry that I’ve been gone for so long.” He looked up at Tobio, who gave him an encouraging nod. “Things have been really hard recently.” Everyone remained dead silent, waiting for Hinata to finish. The mood had quickly shifted to a serious one. “Um, my dad,” he said quietly. Kageyama squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. “He was… hurting me….” Everyone exchanged glances, some making audible gasps, and they all looked incredibly worried. “It was really bad,” Hinata continued. “But he’s in jail now. I’ve been staying with Kageyama and everything is going to be okay.” He looked up at Tobio, who nodded at him. “I don’t want you guys to treat me differently or anything. Please don’t. I just thought that you guys deserved to know why I was gone. I’m totally okay now.”

Everyone seemed to understand and nodded, along with a chorus of “We understand” or “We’re glad you’re okay.”

Hinata smiled. “Can we just play now?” he asked with a nervous smile and everyone grinned, running to take their places for practice. The rest of their practice was completely normal, and Hinata couldn’t have been more relieved. Everything was going back to normal just as he had hoped it would. Things weren’t so lucky after practice, though.

When Hinata arrived to his homeroom class and took his seat, he knew things weren’t going to be as okay as he first thought.

“Look who’s back, guys. Baby Shouyou finally realized he had to come to school in order to pass,” an all too familiar, irritating voice teased from behind him. Hinata spun around in his chair to face the ass hole who was being so rude, none other than Amori Hisao.

“Leave me alone, I’m not in the mood for this today,” Hinata mumbled, turning back to the front and waiting for class to start again. This was his only class without Kageyama, so as long as he could ignore Amori for a little longer it would be okay.

“What’s the matter? You’re little boyfriend isn’t here to protect you, huh? That’s too bad,” the other boy snickered, causing Hinata to roll his eyes. “Is that why both of you were gone last week? You were out fucking somewhere?” Hinata turned back around and glared at Amori. The last thing he needed was for people to find out about him and Kageyama and start harassing him about it too. He wished his boyfriend was there to punch the ass hole in his stupid face right then.

“I said leave me alone,” Hinata growled angrily. “Seriously.”  
Amori just laughed, scooting closer to Hinata’s desk, but before he could go any further, the teacher walked in, sending the classroom into silence. The rest of the class went by without incident, and Hinata was relived when he found Tobio waiting for him afterwards.

“How was homeroom?” Tobio asked as they walked to their class together. Hinata found it hard not to reach out and grab Tobio’s hand.

“It was okay,” Hinata answered quietly. “That ass hole Amari was back at it, but nothing worse than the usual.” Tobio nodded, knowing exactly who Shouyou was talking about.They got to class and sat next to one another, Hinata collecting his makeup work before the class started.

“Okay, like I discussed last week, we will be watching a movie today that you will each be writing an essay on tomorrow. Pay attention to the characterization as well as the hero’s journey as you watch okay?” The teacher announced and everyone nodded, sitting back to watch the film.

As the film began, everything seemed fairly normal. It was called the kite runner, and was about a boy and his father who are servants for a man. The man’s son and the boy were good friends who flew kites in contests together. It was actually a fairly good movie, and Hinata was fairly certain that he was supposed to have read the book as well, but had forgotten because of missing so much school. He looked over to Tobio, who he was pretty sure hadn’t read it either.

Suddenly in the film, something had changed though. The boy and his friends were being chased by bullies and the boy had been thrown to the ground. He was being beaten and kicked and spat at by the bullies and Hinata had to look away. He felt sick and clenched his eyes shut, trying to ignore the movie. The sounds of the boy crying out we’re still echoing in his mind though, and it seemed as if the scene was never going to end.

He felt himself beginning to shake and suddenly he was back in his house and his father was towering over him, yelling at him for something he’d done wrong. How did he get back here? He tried to move but he was frozen in place as his father sent blow after blow into his side, his back, his face. He cried out but nobody was there. “Worthless boy. Do you hear me Shouyou? You’re worthless! Stupid Shouyou, horrible, ugly, worthless, Shouyou.” His dad was screaming and Hinata was crying.“Shouyou! Shouyou,” Hinata’s father was shaking him and throwing him around and Hinata cried.

“Stop it! Stop it. Help me,” he whimpered pathetically. “Tobio,” he cried, wishing for his boyfriend to save him all over again. He wasn’t even sure how he was back here. Wasn’t he just watching a movie? Did his dad trick him? Did he plan this? More panic set in. “Tobio!” He begged, thrashing against his father’s hold. “Help me.”

“Shouyou,” the voice was different this time. Not his fathers at all. Something softer. “What’s wrong? Listen to me,” the voice was almost begging. It sounded worried.

“Tobio,” Hinata whimpered.

“It’s me,” the voice, no, Kageyama’s voice told him. “You need to snap out of it okay? Please.”

Hinata tried to find the source of the voice, but everything seemed fuzzy and he could still feel someone holding onto his arms, but- it wasn’t his father? No. It was too gentle to be. Hinata blinked, and suddenly he was face to face with Kageyama. Relief flooded him and he began sobbing again, throwing himself forward into his boyfriend’s arms. “I thought, I thought he was back. I don’t understand,” he sobbed.

“I know,” Kageyama whispered. “You’re safe. I’m here. It wasn’t real.”

“The movie scared me,” Hinata cried quietly and Kageyama realized that the scene is what must have sent Shouyou into a stage of panic.

“I know, but it’s over now.”

Hinata nodded, suddenly aware that the whole class was staring at him, some looking worried and others just confused. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered.

“You two can go,” the teacher said quietly. “Don’t worry, okay?” She told them.  
Kageyama nodded and stood up, pulling Hinata with him to leave the room. Once they were in the hallway, Hinata fell back into Tobio’s arms.

“Why did that happen?” Hinata whispered. “What if it happens again?”

Kageyama frowned. “I don’t know but I think it was a flashback probably.” Hinata looked up at him confused.

“But it felt so real.”

“I know. But you’re safe now okay?” Kageyama kissed Hinata’s forehead gently. “I love you.”

Hinata sighed and squeezed Tobio a little tighter. “I love you more.”

“No, I love you more, dumbass.”

Shouyou giggled softly and let go of Tobio. “No way,” he argued.

Kageyama raised an eyebrow. “Yes way,” he said seriously, as if this were a competition. If loving each other was in fact a competition, they were definitely both winners.

“Do you want to go home? We can if you need to.” Kageyama offered, knowing that what Shouyou had just been through was probably hell.

“No. I need to stay all day. Besides, I’m looking forward to practicing later,” Hinata said.

Kageyama smiled. “Just making sure. "Lets get ready for our next class, okay?”  
Hinata just nodded, grabbing onto Kageyama’s hand and following him through the hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment as I love reading them!


	9. Chapter nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thank you all for your amazing comments! I think this story may be coming to a close soon, so please let me know if you have any opinions on how much longer it should be.

The flashbacks were becoming more and more common. More often than not, they were triggered by something that reminded Hinata of his father or what he went through. Kageyama could tell it was taking a toll on his boyfriend, and it hurt like hell to see Hinata in such a painful situation. He wished he knew how to make everything better, and logically, he knew they would probably go away with time, but how much time exactly?

On top of the flashbacks, Hinata woke up almost every night thrashing about due to nightmares. Kageyama would hold him and kiss him and do his best to make him feel safe until he would calm down, but they didn’t stop. Because of these nightmares, the futon on Kageyama’s floor was always empty, Hinata sleeping curled up to the setter’s side each night instead. Kageyama spent most of his time worrying about Shouyou and hoping that things would start getting better soon.

It had been a whole week since Hinata had started going back to school when the Kageyama house received another call from the police department. Kageyama’s mother answered the phone on the Friday night that it happened. Kageyama was sitting at the table next to her, but Hinata was upstairs showering. “Hello,” Ms. Kageyama answered. There was a brief pause before she spoke again. “Yes that would be me… Yes he’s still living with us.” Another pause. “Oh I see,” she said, her expression changing. She looked pretty worried, and Kageyama didn’t know what to make of it. “Yes I understand.” she said quietly. Her expression changed again, as if she was questioning something. “I will do it.” Another pause. “ Okay. I will be there tomorrow.” Tobio frowned, wondering what the hell his mother was talking about. “Okay thank you for calling.”

She put down the phone and buried her face in her hands. At first Tobio thought she might be angry about something but then she spoke. “That family has gone through hell,” she whispered. Tobio’s eyes widened.

“Who was that? What’s going on?” He asked nervously. “Hinata’s dad isn’t out or anything right?” He asked worriedly.

His mother shook her head. “No, honey don’t worry. He’s never gonna be let near that boy again. No, this is about his mother.”

Tobio gulped. “Is she okay?”

“They’re arresting her too. For child neglect. Apparently it’s because she didn’t report Hinata’s father even though she knew what was happening to him.” Kageyama could tell by his mother’s face that she didn’t agree with this decision.

“Oh,” Tobio said quietly. He knew how much this was going to crush Hinata. He didn’t want to see the look on Shouyou’s face when he found out. Thinking about that broke his heart.

“I mean it makes sense,” Ms. Kageyama said. “But I know that she didn’t actually do anything wrong and Hinata is already hurting so much.”

Tobio nodded, feeling like he might cry. Thinking about this made his chest hurt for Shouyou. He knew how much this was going to break his heart. “Wait,” he said, suddenly remembering something. “What about Natsu? They’re going to take her away.” Panic rose in his voice, as he didn’t want Hinata to lose his little sister too.

“I told them I would take her too. Otherwise they were going to have to send her to Tokyo to stay with some relatives. We can’t separate them.”

Tobio sighed, relieved. He knew his mom would do this type of thing without question, but this was still a huge thing to ask of a person. He leaned over suddenly and hugged his mom tightly. “Thank you for helping him,” Tobio whispered. He didn’t know how else to express how grateful he was that his mom wasn’t sending Hinata out into the streets. Not many people would just take in random kids they didn’t know very well.

“Of course. He doesn’t deserve any of this,” his mom told him quietly. “Besides, I know how much you love him.”

Kageyama broke away from the hug and looked at his mom. “So you know?”

His mom smiled and rolled her eyes. “I’m not blind, Tobio sweetie. Don’t worry, I’m happy for you. I see how happy he makes you. Since you met him, you’ve changed so much.”

Tobio smiled, feeling like he was going to cry again. “Yeah,” he said. “I want him to be happy… He’s just- he’s everything, mom.”

Tobio’s mom smiled at that comment, and hugged her son again. “This is going to be hard for him to but we’re going to get him and his sister through this together, okay?” Tobio nodded at his mom, hugging her back tightly.

“What’s going on?” A timid voice spoke from the doorway of the kitchen, where they were sitting. Kageyama pursed his lips, not knowing what to do. He didn’t want to have to tell Hinata about his mom.

“Sweetie, come sit down with us,” Tobio’s mom said, beckoning him forward. Hinata nodded and walked in. He sat beside Kageyama, who immediately reached for his hand between the chairs.

“What’s wrong?” He asked Kageyama quietly.

“I have to tell you some news, okay?” Ms. Kageyama told him.

“Is everything okay?” He asked, looking between Tobio and his mother.

“Actually, sweetie, the police department called.” That statement made Hinata’s eyes widen. “They said that your mother has been taken into custody due to child neglect.”

Hinata eyes widened. “What?” He said, not fully comprehending what was going on. “Child neglect? That doesn’t even make sense!” Tears were already swelling up in his eyes and Kageyama gave his hand a squeeze.

“It’s because she didn’t report your father for what he was doing to you.” She explained. “I know this is really hard.”

Hinata shook his head. “No!” He cried. “She didn’t even do anything.” He looked frantic and distraught and Kageyama opened his arms slightly, silently inviting Shouyou in. The boy immediately clung to his boyfriend, shaking with a mix of sorrow and anger. “They can’t do this to her,” he sobbed, clutching onto Tobio.

“I’m so sorry,” Kageyama whispered, exchanging a nervous glance with his mom.

“She didn’t even do a- anything.” Hinata was hysterical at this point. “This isn’t fair.”

Kageyama rocked Hinata slowly back and forth, trying to think of any way to calm him down. “Hinata,” he whispered, running his hand gently through his boyfriends hair.

“Sweetie, please try to understand,” Tobio’s mom whispered.

“No! I don’t wanna hear it!” Hinata tore himself away from Tobio, looking disheveled and wild eyed. “I just need to be alone right now.” He turned away, another sob escaping his mouth. Tobio couldn’t help but feel useless in that moment. Was he not enough to make Hinata feel better? He fought the urge to follow him up the stairs, his mom shaking her head at him.

“He just needs time,” she told him. Kageyama just buried his face in his hands and took a shaky breath.  
“I know,” he said, upset. “I just- I don’t want him to feel like that,” he whispered sadly. “I don’t know what to do. He’s hurting so much.”

Kageyama’s mom looked sadly at him. “For now just let him be upset,okay? I’m sure that when Natsu gets here he’ll start feeling a bit better.”

Kageyama just nodded and stood up slowly from where he was standing. “I’m just going to go to bed,” he mumbled, walking away from his mother and heading upstairs. He took a hot shower, trying to come up with anything at all that might possibly make Hinata happier. Things were already bad with the flashbacks and nightmares, but now everything was quickly becoming worse. When he got to his bedroom the lights were already off and Hinata was curled up in Kageyama’s bed, sniffling quietly. “I’m sorry,” the boy whimpered. “I’m just really sad. I tho-thought I was going to see my mom soon. And Natsu,” another sob fought its way out. “But now I don’t know what’s going to happen.” Hinata was shaking terribly and Tobio moved to his boyfriend’s side.

“Shouyou,” he said quietly. “I’m so sorry. I wish I could just make everything better.” He sighed. “But hey,” he opened his arms for Hinata, who nestled against him, clinging on tightly. “Natsu is coming to live here with us until everything is okay again. That’s good isn’t it?”

“Really?” Hinata asked, sniffling.

“Yeah. I can’t wait to meet her. She seems wonderful,” Tobio said calmly, trying to make Hinata feel better.

“I miss her.”

“I know you do. She’ll be here tomorrow though.”

There was a long pause before either of them spoke again. Hinata squeezed Tobio tightly. “Sorry I ran out like that.”

“Don’t apologize. I understand.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Hinata looked up at Kageyama warily. “I’m really not okay at all, Kageyama. You know that, right?” Hinata spoke softly, his breath landing against Tobio’s neck.

“I know,” Kageyama told him, because he did know. Hinata wasn’t fine at all. He was a complete mess, but Kageyama didn’t even care. “You’lll be okay eventually. You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met.”

Hinata hummed in response, pressing a soft kiss against Kageyama’s chin. “One day everything will be alright won’t it? And I’ll get to be with you?”

“Of course,” Kageyama whispered. “I’ll always be with you. If that’s what you want.” Suddenly a pair of lips pressed against his own and their lips were moving perfectly in time, crashing like waves. The only thing running through Tobio’s mind was how he could taste the salt from his tears. He wanted to kiss away all of the tears, all of the pain, all of the hurt. He wanted his boyfriend to smile and laugh and be happy again.

And he couldn’t wrap his head around something. He couldn’t understand how the same world that could cause Hinata Shouyou so much pain could still be wonderful enough to bring them together. It was almost cruel how the world worked, giving one person everything they ever wanted while giving someone else needless suffering. Because Hinata was indeed everything Tobio had ever wanted, while Shouyou was falling apart at the seams, clinging onto Kageyama for dear life.Kageyama began kissing Hinata deeper. He needed to be sure that Hinata could feel his love. He needed the boy to know that despite everything falling apart, Kageyama would always be there to pick up the pieces. That he loved him more than anything in the world.That night, Kageyama held his boyfriend tighter than he ever had before, determined to protect him from all hurt in the world. Hinata was not okay, he was the broken shell of his old self, struggling not to break down at any moment, but all Kageyama could see was his beautiful boyfriend. His favorite person in the world.

Kageyama was woken in the early morning, before the sun was even up, by a cry. It wasn’t the usual type of crying that he was used to waking him up. Usually Hinata would be screaming and thrashing, but this was different, and somehow it was worse. Hinata was whimpering, tears spilling from his eyes. He looked like he was in so much pain despite being asleep. Kageyama felt his chest twist into a knot at the sight. He leaned over to kiss Shouyou’s forehead softly. “It’s okay,” he mumbled, tracing his fingers through Hinata’s hair. “Don’t cry,” he begged quietly, wanting Hinata to stop, but not wanting to have to wake him just yet. It was too early and Hinata hadn’t been sleeping well to begin with. “Please don’t cry. I’m here.”

Hinata whimpered again, his hands blindly finding Tobio’s shirt and gripping it tightly. “-bio,” he whimpered, his voice needy and broken.

“It’s me,” Tobio whispered, desperate to make him stop crying. “You’re okay,” he soothed, tracing more kisses across Hinata’s face. “I’m right here.”

“Tobio,” something about the boy’s expression shifted into something softer, and he melted against Kageyama’s chest. Kageyama sighed and continued running his hand through the boy’s hair, falling asleep with his lips pressed to the boy’s forehead. Neither of them woke again until the morning sunbeams hit their faces through the cracks in the window.

“G'morning,” Kageyama mumbled groggily, rubbing at his eyes. He looked over to Hinata, who was yawning softly. The boy’s eyes were still puffy and red from last night, but Kageyama didn’t mention it, leaning closer to press a soft kiss against his boyfriend’s lips. Hinata’s face flushed red and he buried his face against Tobio’s neck. He didn’t say anything, and Tobio knew he didn’t want to have to face the day. He knew Hinata didn’t want to think about his parents, as the boy didn’t have a happy family life anymore. Tobio knew that the boy could barely keep it together anymore, and all he could do at the moment was remind his boyfriend of how special he was and hope that Natsu being there would be able to cheer him up.

Tobio circled his arms around Hinata gently and the boy sighed. “I wish I never had to get up. Then I would never have to deal with any of this and I could just stay here with you.”

Tobio kissed Hinata’s forehead. “I know you don’t want to deal with it. It sucks. But Natsu is coming today, remember?”

Hinata smiled weakly. “I hope she’s okay. I don’t want her to feel like I do.”

Kageyama frowned and gave Hinata more kisses. “I’m sure she’s okay. Don’t worry. She’ll be so happy to see you.” Hinata nodded unconvincingly and Tobio frowned. “I know this sucks, Shouyou. I know this is hurting you. Just-” he paused, Hinata looking up to meet his gaze. “Just don’t be afraid to talk to me about it.”

“Tobio,” Hinata started.

“Seriously. You can talk to me about all of it. I promise I’ll be here no matter what.”

Hinata smiled weakly, leaning up to kiss his boyfriend’s cheek. “Thank you,” he whispered. Tobio ran his fingers through Shouyou’s hair comfortingly. Three knocks on the bedroom door startled both boys, and Hinata jumped slightly at the sound.

Kageyama sat up and gave Hinata one last kiss before going to the door. “You can come in mom,” he said as he opened it. Ms. Kageyama smiled and stepped in.

“I have to go to the police department but I’ll be back in a little while. Make sure you two eat something for breakfast.”

The two nodded. “Okay mom,” Tobio replied.

“Will Natsu be with you when you come back?” Hinata asked hopefully.

“I think so sweetie,” Ms. Kageyama smiled. That made Hinata sigh, relieved that he would finally be reunited with Natsu. “I’ll be back,” she said, leaving the room.

Shouyou stood from where he was sitting on Kageyama’s bed and stretched. Tobio stared rummaging through his closet for clothes for them both, tossing a pair of shorts and a t shirt towards his boyfriend. “I’m sorry you have to keep wearing my clothes. I wish we could get some of your stuff from your house.”

“It’s okay,” Hinata said. “I’m sorry I’m stealing all of your clothes.”

Tobio shook his head. “It doesn’t matter,” he said quietly, turning to find clothes for himself to wear. He felt too embarrassed to tell Hinata how much he liked seeing him in his clothes.

“Lets go get breakfast,” he said, reaching out for Hinata’s hand. The boy just nodded, taking Kageyama’s hand letting him guide him through the house to the kitchen. Kageyama poured two bowls of cereal and the couple sat quietly at the table. The setter knew how anxious Hinata probably was about seeing Natsu again.

“It’s going to be fine,” He said quietly, giving Hinata’s hand a quick squeeze.

“What if she’s mad at me for leaving?” Shouyou asked. “Its my fault that she doesn’t have parents anymore.

“Its not your fault,” Tobio told him. “Nothing is your fault, so don’t say that.”

Hinata took a shaky breath. “But what if she blames me?”

“She won’t.” Kageyama insisted. “She is going to be so happy to see you.”

Hinata smiled softly and stared down at his bowl of cereal. “I hope so.”

The two curled up beside one another on the couch, neither of them paying much attention to the movies playing on TV while they waiting for Ms. Kageyama to come back. When they heard the jingling of keys in the door, both jumped up to their feet. They made their way to the front door, where Tobio’s mother was stepping inside, followed by Natsu. She was a small girl, probably seven or eight years old, and she looked exactly like Shouyou. Kageyama couldn’t help but immediately think of how adorable she was.

“Big brother!” The girl cried, running forward and tackling Shouyou with a hug. Hinata smiled a genuine smile, making Tobio smile as well.

“Natsu! I missed you so much.” Shouyou hugged his little sister tightly.

“I missed you too!” Natsu let go of her brother and smiled. “I was sad when you had to go.”

“So was I.” The two clung to each there like their lives depended on it.

Natsu suddenly noticed Tobio, and book the hug with Shouyou, staring at the setter with wide eyes.

Kageyama smiled, stepping forward. “It’s nice to met you,” he said, holding out his hand for the girl to shake. “Im Tobio.” Instead of accepting his offer, the girl stepped forward and hugged Tobio, catching him off guard. He just hugged her back awkwardly and smiled at Shouyou, who actually looked very happy.

  
“Why don’t you boys show Natsu around the house?” Ms. Kageyama suggested. “Then we can get her settled in.”

The boys nodded, and Shouyou grabbed onto Natsu’s hand. The little girl followed Tobio and Shouyou through the house as they showed her where stuff was. They even laid out a guest futon for her next to Shouyou’s unused one. Kageyama’s bedroom floor was now completely covered up.

The three of them spent the day playing card games, not once mentioning the situation they were in. Tobio assumed that it was because Shouyou didn’t want to upset Natsu by bringing it up, which was probably for the best. He was just surprised that Natsu was doing as well as she was. She didn’t seem too upset about what was happening. Tobio thought that maybe she didn’t fully understand what was happening though. For dinner, Ms. Kageyama ordered takeout and the four of them watched a movie. It almost seemed like the were already a family, which was strange to think about. Kageyama had never had anyone but his mom really, and having Natsu and Shouyou here actually felt normal. He looked over to Hinata, who was smiling down at his sister, who seemed to be enjoying the movie. He couldn’t help but hope that the siblings would start to feel like this place was their home too.

After dinner and the movie, it was getting pretty late, and Natsu looked extremely exhausted.“I think its time for you to go to sleep, Natsu,” Shouyou told the girl, who just nodded, yawning. “Today has been a big day, huh?” The girl nodded again.

“Tomorrow can we play some more games with Tobio-chan?” she asked quietly, and Shouyou nodded.

“Of course,” he told the girl. “Let’s go get you to bed, okay?”

“Okay,” she answered, following Shouyou and Kageyama upstairs to her bed.

Natsu had a small bag with some of her clothes in it, so she didn’t need to borrow anything. Hinata made sure that she got changed into her pajamas and brushed her teeth before going to her bed. “You can pick which one you want okay? I’m going to take a shower before I say goodnight.”

Natsu nodded as Shouyou left to take a shower, leaving the girl alone with Tobio. She picked the futon that had originally been meant for Shouyou, in-between the bed and the other futon. The girl just sat on the bed and watched Tobio, who was trying not to think about how extremely awkward it was to be stared at by his boyfriend’s eight year old sister.

“You really love my big brother huh?” Natsu asked suddenly, catching Tobio off guard.

“Oh,” he said quietly, not sure exactly what she meant.

“I know you love him. You saved him,” the girl said quietly. “And you look at him so.. happy looking.”

Tobio smiled at her because god, why was it so easy for the Hinata family to make him feel things. “Of course I love him. You do too, huh?”

The girl nodded, smiling at Tobio. “I love him more than anyone! I want to play volleyball just like him someday!” The girl said with bright eyes.

“That would be so cool!” Tobio told her with a smile. “I can help teach you,” he offered.

“Really?” The girl asked hopefully.

Tobio just nodded, smiling at Natsu.

Nat’s expression change slightly. “Thanks for helping us,” she told him. “My brother is so much happier than he was last time I saw him. It’s because of you.”

Tobio stared at Natsu. The girl knew so much more about the situation than he’d first thought. He supposed it made sense. She wasn’t that young, and she obviously wasn’t stupid. “Don’t thank me,” he told her with a weak smile.

Natsu just sighed, laying down on her futon and snuggling herself in. “You’re really nice. I hope we can stay here until mom gets back. I already like it here,” she yawned, closing her eyes.

“Don’t worry. You’ll be able to stay here for as long as you need to,” Tobio said quietly. “I promise.” Natsu smiled at that comment, happy with his answer. Tobio realized how much he already cared for the small girl.

Shouyou came through the door, flicking off the lights on his way in and stepping over Natsu to get to his futon. “Goodnight,” he said quietly, burying himself beneath the covers. Tobio couldn’t help but wish Shouyou would climb up into his bed with him like he was used to. It felt strange to not be holding him as they fell asleep.

“Goodnight,” Tobio whispered. The room fell into silence.

Tobio wasn’t sure exactly how it happened, but he woke up in the middle of the night with someone clinging to him. He shifted slightly, and realized that Shouyou had joined him in the bed, but that wasn’t all. Natsu had also somehow managed to squeeze herself onto the small bed next to her brother, and had her face buried in his shirt. Tobio smiled and wrapped him arms around Shouyou, one of them falling against Natsu’s arm.

Kageyama promised himself in that moment that he was going to protect the Hinata’s with everything he had. He was determined to make them happy. He let himself drift off to sleep again, the words ‘I love you’ dancing through his thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I hop you liked it. Please leave a comment!


	10. Chapter 10 (End)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have decided for this to be the last chapter. I debated about this for a while, but I honestly couldnt see the story going much further, and when I started writing this story I always wanted it to end here anyway. Thank you for reading. You guys are the reason this story exists.

AN: I would like to encourage you to listen to this song before reading this final chapter, as it is what inspired this entire story. Thank you all so much for reading.  
https://youtu.be/nP-AAlZlCkM

  
Kageyama held Hinata’s hand tightly in his own as they walked, glancing over at his boyfriend from time to time. A lot had changed in the past few days, and he was still worried about how Hinata was handling it. They found out a few days ago that Hinata’s mother would be in prison for four or five more years, and Hinata’s father for life. Hinata seemed to be relieved the minute he found out that his father was never going to hurt him again, and Kageyama was happy that he didn’t have to worry anymore. He was worried about the two missing their mother though. He could tell how much Natsu already wanted to see her mom again, and he didn’t know if the girl would be able to deal with this for five years. Natsu and Shouyou were to continue living with the Kageyamas until their mother was released from prison. The prison time for Ms. Hinata seemed harsh to Natsu and Shouyou, but made sense. She was involved with this after all. Kageyama just made sure to remind them that they would see her again and it would all be okay.

Hinata had also decided to start counseling, with Kageyama’s encouragement. Tobio had explained to the boy that it would help him and make him feel happier again, so Hinata agreed. Today had been his first appointment, and he came out of it looking like a train wreck, all distraught and puffy-eyed. Because of this, Kageyama decided to take his boyfriend to see the stars like he had the night they became a couple. He wanted to cheer Hinata up a little after the boy had to spend an hour telling someone abut his problems. He knew that eventually these appointments would make Shouyou feel better as long as he kept going, so he just needed to be encouraging.

It was late evening now, and the air was just cool enough to where the two had to wear light jackets. “We’re almost there,” Tobio said as they approached their spot. Hinata just nodded and continued following Tobio closely. Sitting down in the grass, Kageyama pulled Hinata to join him, and the boy did so. Kageyama laid on his back, and Hinata snuggled against him, his head resting on the setter’s chest. The two stared up at the sky for a moment in silence.

“I want to ask you something” Hinata said suddenly, taking Kageyama by surprise.

“What is it?”

“It’s about you dad,” he told him. “You don’t have to tell me, but I’ve always wondered about him.”

Tobio smiled sadly and sighed. “What about him?” he asked.

“Just, I don’t know. I feel like you know so much about my family now but I don’t know about yours. Today during my appointment, my counselor told me that I shouldn’t be scared to share my thoughts or ask people questions.”

Kageyama smiled. So the counseling was already taking affect, it seemed. He took a deep breath before speaking. He supposed Hinata would know this one day, anyway, so why not now? “Of course I’ll tell you about him,” he said quietly, running a hand through Hinata’s hair. “When I was twelve years old, my dad moved out,” he started quietly. “Nobody told me he was going to. I thought he was just on a trip or something for work and that he would come back, but he never did. I found out later that my parents got a divorce without telling me.”

Hinata looked surprised by this, but he wasn’t sure exactly what he was expecting. Tobio could see that Hinata felt guilty for asking about it, but the setter shook his head. “It’s okay,” he assured the boy. “I blamed myself for it. I thought that it must be my fault. I mean, my dad never wanted to see me again and I thought I must have done something wrong.” Kageyama chewed at his bottom lip for a moment, unsure of what to say next. “I didn’t really talk to anyone about it. In middle school it was the worst. I would just come home from school everyday and cry myself to sleep because everyone hated me. I hated myself.”  
  
Tobio stopped talking for a second, kind of unsure about where he was going with this story, but Hinata wanted to know so he kept talking. “I’m still not very fond of myself,” he admitted quietly. “I guess he just made me feel like I wasn’t enough, so I tried to make myself enough on my own.”

Hinata looked up at his boyfriends face, tears swelling in his eyes. “I didn’t know about any of this. I’m so sorry,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry for asking.”

“Don’t be sorry for me, dumbass. You’ve been through so much more than I have and you’re so much stronger.” Tobio smiled sadly at Shouyou. “I’ve never really told anyone about this.”

Hinata smiled at Kageyama, and leaned up to press a kiss to his boyfriend’s lips. “Thanks for telling me,” he said softly. “I guess we both have crappy dads huh?” He asked with a quiet laugh.

Kageyama just sighed. “Yeah,” he replied, turning his attention back up to the stars. “Just know that no matter how hard things are, I’ll always be with you. You’re part of the reason that I don’t really care about that ass-hole anymore. You and the rest of the team are the first people who haven’t hated me since then.”

Hinata smiled at that. “Do you want to know what I think? ” Tobio asked.

Hinata hummed in response. “What?”

“I think that one day none of this is going to matter anymore.”

Hinata raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

Kageyama just stared up at the sky, his eyes fixed on the shining stars. “I mean that one day our problems aren’t going to matter anymore. None of this will.”

Hinata frowned, still a bit unsure about what Kageyama meant by that. “But they still matter to us,” Shouyou argued.

“I know they do. That’s what’s crazy about it all. Things that are so important to us don’t matter at in the grand scheme of the world.”

“Since when did you become so philosophical?” Hinata asked.

Tobio just laughed quietly. “Just look at the moon,” the boy said, pointing up to the almost full moon.

“Im looking,” Hinata said.

“It’s always there. So are the stars. Every night we see them because the world always keeps turning no matter what happens to us.”

Hinata still seemed to not be fully grasping what his boyfriend was trying to get at.

“I’m just saying that one day we’ll be gone, but it won’t matter. The moon will still be here every night. The stars will still shine as if nothing has changed. The world will keep turning no matter how catastrophic the things in our lives seem.” He explained. “Thats why I came here so much after my dad left. Watching the sky was the only constant thing in my life. It helped me realize how little my personal problems are in this world.”

Shouyou nodded slowly, starting to understand what Tobio meant. “I think that all of that is true.” He paused for a moment. “But-“ he added quietly. “I still like to think that my life matters. Maybe not to the world, but to other people.”

Tobio smiled. “Of course you matter. You matter to me and to Natsu and your mom and the team, and so many people. That’s what’s great about it. Once this is all over, it won’t matter, because as long as we’re with the people who matter to us, in the end we can be happy.”

Hinata smiled at that. “As long as you’re with me, everything will be alright.”

Tobio hummed and nodded. “I’ll always be here no matter what. As long as you want me here, I’ll never leave you’re side.”

The smaller boy smiled and turned his attention back to the stars. Tobio was right. One day Hinata’s world may be no more, but the world will keep turning. This very moon and these very stars will still shine in the sky. He glanced over to Tobio, watching his boyfriend for a second. As long as Tobio was here, he wouldn’t mind if the world ended right now.

Hinata Shouyou was very far from being okay. His mind was still clouded with horrible memories and dark thoughts from what he’d been through. He would still wake up months and even years from now screaming from night terrors. He wouldn’t be completely fine for a long time. But looking at Kageyama, at his little sister, at his team, he knew that one day he would be fine. He knew that people loved him and supported him and would never leave him. As long as he had them, he would be okay again someday. He watched Kageyama’s face shine beneath the moonlight and smiled to himself because one day he would be happy with Kageyama and everything would be fine again. Someday they would have each other without having to worry about any of this. Someday his father would be a distant memory. Someday all of this would make sense and none of it would matter. Someday he would be okay. Someday.

The two watched the sky for a while, holding onto one another. Hinata thought maybe they should head back home soon. It was getting pretty late and it was starting to get kind of cold. He almost said something when a shooting star streaked across the sky suddenly, surprising both boys. “Make a wish,” Hinata told his boyfriend, his voice a soft whisper.

Kageyama closed his eyes and wished for Hinata to stay by his side forever.

Hinata just wished for everything to be alright, but when he met Tobio’s eyes, somehow he knew that it already was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading this through to the end. I'm sad that it's over but now I'm definitely going to start a new one. I'm thinking my next story will be about Tsukishima and Yamaguchi but who knows? This story started out as a one shot, and I never intended for it to be a completed story, but thank you all for encouraging me to write more of it. You guys are amazing. Please leave a comment on how you felt about this and thank you again! Bye for now guys!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Please leave a comment.


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